1 Corinthians 12:1-6
12 Now, dear brothers and sisters,[a] regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2 You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3 So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.
4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5 There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6 God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.
What do you expect the power of the Holy Spirit to feel like? Pins and needles? Heart beating? Warm glow?
Say these words out loud: JESUS IS LORD.
Did you mean them? If so, the Paul writes that you are only able to say them through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our confession is a spiritual gift and a sign that the Holy Spirit is within us.
What strikes me is how undramatic that feels. There was no open heaven or shaking in my knees. There were no tears or rush of wind. Of course, I am not in any way saying that these big Holy Spirit moments do not happen or are false when they do. However, if we only equate the Holy Spirit to an emotional moment then we are in danger of being misled or manipulated as we chase after the emotional experience and not the true substance. The Holy Spirit working through us in power often feels remarkably ordinary.
So many people feel lost or frustrated because they expected their faith to feel different. They long for an encounter with God or to be anointed in a special way. However, so often it is that they are searching for what they already have, it just feels more ordinary than they had imagined. The power of the Holy Spirit is already at work in and through them but their gifts are unrecognised.
As I look back over my life, often my greatest impact has come in moments that felt particularly underwhelming. It is not the feelings but the fruit of following him is what most accurately shows the fingerprints of God in your life.
