Great Games of the Holy Spirit

I don’t know why that phrase kept coming to my mind a couple of months ago.  I had listened to a teaching series by Graham Cooke on Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit and it was a subheading for one of the teachings. I  had thought the Olympic Games are not far away so maybe it had something to do with that. I had always thought of the Olympic Games as great games- athletics and sport which brings people together with a celebration of connection and physical stamina and endurance but also of national pride.  But it wasn’t the Olympic Games which kept coming to my mind.  I kept thinking that the Holy Spirit wants to play with us, and these are the Great Games of the Spirit.

Each one of us has a spirit inside of us- that gets moved to tears at times or bursts into action with causes we believe in. Our spirit lives forever- and according to my Bible my spirit is more tangible than the physical world which is passing away. 1 Cor 7:31 …for the world in its present form is passing away. And yet there is something eternal about connecting with the Holy Spirit and living in a realm of the spirit.

What are the Games of the Holy Spirit?  I started pondering this phrase which is not in my bible. I recalled that when my children were little and learning a new skill if I made it into a game they picked it up quickly.  Potty training was like this.  I had a little red potty for my children to sit in and it had a little white plastic tray which attached to the front so that my child was unable to get off the potty easily. On the tray I would put a few interesting toys- puzzles or even play dough to keep my child sitting down.  Potty training began as a game. Later when they were in first grade the school teacher had a game for learning to read. It was called Jolly Phonics. Each night we played the game which included songs and actions. It was not a chore but a pleasure to do this game with my children. After they learnt to read they didn’t need to play the game anymore, but when their younger siblings were in grade one the same game became a family event as the older child recalled the songs and actions.

The Holy Spirit is like this in teaching us new skills.  He too can make it into a game. I remember one day while having a shower hearing His voice. It was joyful and playful, “Come outside I want to show you something.”  At first I was intrigued.  I clearly heard something in my spirit but it wasn’t an audible voice.  I had to get dry and then dressed but all the time I was getting excited. The Holy Spirit – wants to show me something. What could it be? So I walked outside with my eyes open to something that might be a little treasure from God.  At first I saw a bunch of cherry tomatoes which were bright red on a plant that had grown from seeds that I hadn’t cultivated.  At a distance they looked red and ripe but when I got closer I could see that they were all past their prime and had spots on the undersides.  This wasn’t what the Holy Spirit wanted to show me.  I walked further into the yard. There behind the trampoline, we have a small fig tree.  It has struggled over 15 years of growth to get only 1 metre tall. We had transplanted the tree when we landscaped the yard, but it still had not flourished. Then the neighbours chopped down a large tree which overshadowed our yard and I had expected my fig tree to bloom but not then either.  Now as I walked into the yard I could see that my fig tree looked different. There on one branch were 5 figs. Not quite ripe but on the way to being fruit to eat.  I couldn’t see any figs on any of the other branches. This was surprising – why only on one branch.  So I asked the Holy Spirit- what does this mean?  I didn’t expect an answer so soon. I walked upstairs and opened my bible at John 15 and there I read

 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.  If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.  If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.  This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Jesus spoke these words to his disciples not long before he was crucified.  I suddenly saw Jesus speaking these words to me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

That word spoke to me for many months as I recalled it. It was about abiding in Him and listening to His voice and remaining in that place of abiding.  The Great Games of the Holy Spirit are about listening to His voice and having my spiritual ears open to hearing and then being able to meditate and ask questions to receive more understanding.  Sometimes I see something and an image remains with me for a long time and this is having spiritual eyes open to what the Holy Spirit is teaching me.  Again it can be a game as I learn this new skill.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to play a game of surprise. He wants to surprise us with knowing the little details of our lives. I remember a few years ago on a family holiday to Tasmania I wanted to meet Sirpa who was a dear friend to my late mother.  I looked up this lady in the phone book and checked online sources for information on how to find her but without success. I didn’t know she had changed her surname.  But the Holy Spirit likes to surprise us.  One morning I couldn’t find my bible for my daily reading.  Instead of forgetting about it and giving myself a holiday from reading, I decided to venture out to buy another bible. My son and I walked around the city streets and went into one book shop. They didn’t have any bibles but the shop attendant directed me to a Christian bookstore about 2 blocks away.  We walked together to this shop and browsed for 10 minutes while I chose a Message bible.  We went to the counter to pay for our purchase and while there I turned around and then the surprise.  Sirpa was standing in line behind me. It was such a surprise. We hugged and cried together at this amazing divine appointment.  Sirpa told me that she had a doctor’s appointment close to this shop and had arrived 15 minutes early to buy a birthday present for her daughter. She had seen me coming to visit her in a dream three days before. God directed me to the same shop to be there at exactly the same time. I know the Holy Spirit hid my bible that morning so I would go out to look for another bible. I later found my bible in the hire car. I just imagined the Holy Spirit chuckling at all of this- behind the scenes organisation, that brought me and Sirpa together that morning. These are the Great Games of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes I get heavy with carrying loads that I am not supposed to be carrying. As a mother I worry about my children. I worry they might not make right choices, and might not become all that God intends them to become. In that moment Holy Spirit reminds me that He has given me promises about my children.  I trust Him to be faithful to His word. I remember that it is satan who tells me to worry and brings an image of something that might go wrong.  I decide in that moment to not partner with the enemy of my soul whose only weapon is intimidation. The only power the enemy has to inflict damage is when I give him the power.  In the Great Games of the Holy Spirit I am learning about recognising that other voice that comes to take away my peace and then learning the art of disempowering the enemy with rejoicing in all my circumstances. When I remember that the Prince of Peace has promised to never leave me or forsake me, I can hold my peace and rejoice no matter what the circumstances.

However there are times when I fail to realise this truth, it is just like I am a small child learning to walk and my faltering steps are interrupted by a tumble.  God the Father and the Holy Spirit and Jesus are there urging me to get up and try again. They don’t get upset by my fall, they just urge me to get up and walk again. They know that one day I will be walking automatically and then I will learn to run.

Today in your Christian mindfulness journey- fill up on the Holy Spirit.  Walk in all of your days with an expectancy that the Holy Spirit will teach you new skills and sometimes it comes in the form of a game. Enjoy!