The Yellow Jacket In My Car

I was sitting in a fast-food drive-through when I noticed it.

A huge yellow jacket was buzzing inside the car, around my windshield.  And I was sitting there very, very close to it.  Too close!

This really unsettled me!

I'm in a car, and a yellow jacket is right in my face.

Then the thought hit me:  This must be a small glimpse of how God's Holy Spirit feels when He's in our hearts, and we allow sin to be right in His face.

Here's the deal:  When we say "Yes" to God's only Son (Jesus) and accept His gift of salvation, God's Holy Spirit takes up residence within us. He comes to dwell permanently in our hearts.  He is in there!  That's why Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 6:19, "your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you."

When we allow sin to also take root in our hearts, it is thrust in His presence.  That greatly bother Him.  It grieves Him!

"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit," writes Paul in Ephesians 4:30.  What an important point.  Do not allow evil things to enter your life when the Holy Spirit is also in your life.  It is not pleasant or pleasing to Him at all.

I was so glad when that yellow jacket was gone from my car.  I did not like being so close to it.

The Holy Spirit is even more glad when intentional sin is gone from our hearts.  He does not like being so close to it.  At all.

Let's not grieve God's Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds today.  May we, with God's cleansing power and word, be pure inside.  How pleasing that will be to The One who lives within us.