Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice.”

Ephesians 4:30-31 (New King James Version)

We read in Numbers 11 that the people of Israel complained for the want of meat. They were bored of eating manna and wanted to eat meat. Now the issue here was not that they desired for meat but the fact that they complained and were filled with bitterness. And not only was it not just a desire, but they had turned it into an intense craving .. Numbers 11: 4-6 , “Now the mixed multitude who were among them yielded to intense craving; so the children of Israel also wept again and said: “Who will give us meat to eat ? We remember the fish which we ate freely in Egypt, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic; but now our whole being is dried up; there is nothing at all except this manna before our eyes!”. The literal translation for the word ‘yielded’ in this context is ‘lusted intensely’.

A lot of us who are waiting on the Lord and walking as per His will, sometimes face difficult situations. But the question is ,will out hearts be filled with peace or will we harbor bitterness. Will we praise God and say ‘Lord You will take me to the promised land. I trust in You. Help me grow strong in You that I may not yield to the desires of the flesh.’ Or will we complain and say “Lord if I had only taken that other job that day then I wont be in this predicament today.. You only brought me to this job… but see what I am facing”, “Lord I could have married that guy/girl that time itself though he/she was a non-believer , now see what’s happening … see how old I am getting … see what people are saying” , “Lord if only….”. Bitterness , wrath , …. It needs to be put away.

Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom we are sealed.

Isaiah 40: 31 , “But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”

How wonderful it is to wait on the Lord !

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let this be our prayer this morning, that all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor , evil speaking and malice be put away from us. May we be a pleasing sacrificing to our God.

God Bless