19. I find that God’s Spirit often speaks by making me aware of things about myself that need healing.

(Before looking at the questions below, take a few minutes to think about this statement. Invite Jesus to speak to you about what He would like you to notice.) 

What is your response when the Spirit shows you something about yourself? Do you invite Him to say more? Or do you tune Him out, resist, and silence Him?

If you were to hold the fact that God has already forgiven you and that He only desires your good, what good could come from engaging in a conversation with the Spirit about your inner brokenness?

We are born broken and diseased, but Jesus came to heal those diseases and continues to heal through His Spirit. With this in mind, how could listening to the Spirit bring about healing?

As we learn to know the voice of God, a voice that isn’t restricted to words, another possible way of hearing is through the Spirit who teaches us about God and ourselves. The Spirit is the therapist of the soul.

As our relationship deepens with Jesus, as we become more aware of His voice, and as we grow in humility and openness, the Spirit will begin to make us aware of our faults and lead us in a path of healing. This process is not a short conversation using words, but a long, growing awareness, a seeing of ourselves and an understanding of what God is inviting us to change.

What is always present in this expression of God’s voice, is that the “seeings” and “knowings” have the tone of God: kind, gentle, clear and compelling, and full of love. The Spirit is kind and will never show us something that we aren’t ready to see. He knows us better than we know ourselves and knows when we are ready to receive difficult insights about ourselves. When He sees we are ready, the Holy Spirit will reveal these things to us, guide us into truth, and provide the strength and power for transformation.

This gentle work of the Spirit is different from a self-led self-discovery process that can become discouraging, defeating, and dark. That is the work of the enemy. The work of the Spirit is always uplifting, freeing, hopeful, and fruitful. The fruit of emotional and spiritual health, seen in a growing presence of peace, kindness, joy, rest, freedom, and so on, is the evidence that the Spirit is present in us and communicating to us.