There are certain phrases that we use that elicit excitement, exhilaration and anticipation. We say them in song and conversation and hear them in sermons. Phrases such as; “Holy Spirit we invite You to this place”, “….. then God showed up“, “come Holy Spirit come” and many more. Indeed when these phrases are used, in song or conversation, it gives sort of an adrenaline rush; it enhances the worship experience and raises the hairs on the back of the neck. But at what cost do we gain this rush? Please remember that what we say and do directly affects our inner being and impacts tremendously what we truly believe, and not necessarily what we say we believe.

Ask any child that is a regular church attender, “where does the Holy Spirit live?” Or during an adult bible study ask the question “is God with us always, even right now?”

The answers of course are; the Holy Spirit lives, resides, is inside each one of us, and God is definitely always ALWAYS with us. If we truly believe these answers then how could we use phrases such as “come Holy Spirit come” or “… then God showed up”? The repetition of such phrases, although exhilarating, simply precipitate the inner belief, and not the expressed belief, that God and the Holy Spirit are NOT with us always. No wonder in many cases people search for God, not because God is not there rather because we are blinded to His presence. Let’s help each other remove the blindfold, give up the exhilaration and the adrenaline rush for the truth of the constant and relentless presence of our Lord and Creator in our lives.

So let us stop using such phrases, or when we hear them ask the simple question “where was God before he showed up?”