Unfaithful creatures! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is in vain that the scripture says, "He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us"- James 4:4-5
Has there ever been anything you wanted so badly that you just could not get it out of your mind? Every time you tried to think about something else, your mind just kept drifting back repeatedly to that thing you desired. Finally, your urge to possess it became so intense every fiber of your being wanted to reach out and capture it before it was too late?
Let me use a different illustration to make this point. If a drug addict or an alcoholic abruptly decides to stop doing drugs or drinking after many years of chemical abuse, what happens? Unless that person receives a miraculous deliverance, it probably won't be too long before his body begins to crave those chemicals. In fact, his appetite for drugs or alcohol might become so forceful that he doubles over in agony. That is how much his body yearns for a "fix" of what it has habitually received in the past.
When I was dating my husband I just never got enough of his company. I would be craving the scent of his cologne. What an intense desire we still have for one another. Now that I am here in Florida, I still am yearning for hear his voice. Time is getting close for my return and I have an intense hunger for his gentle loving touch.
Usually the word lust is used to indicate an intense yearning for something that is morally wrong and sinful. It is the pitiful picture of someone, such as a drug addict or an alcoholic, who needs his "fix" so seriously that he is doubled over, racked with pain, and crying out, "Please, someone, give me what I need!"
Remarkably, James 4:5 describes an intense desire the Holy Spirit has for us!
The word jealously or lust is sometimes used in this verse. Only this time the word is not used to describe the painful addiction of a drug addict or alcoholic. It is used to depict the Spirit of God! There is obviously some object that the Spirit of God craves. In fact, if you go to the Greek, the word pictures Him as desiring it so desperately that He is like one who needs some type of "fix" to satisfy an addiction. He is crying out, "I have to have it! I cannot wait any longer! Give me what I crave! Give me what I am aching and yearning to have!"
But, what does this mean? What is James 4:5 saying to us? What does the Holy Spirit yearn for so sincerely that the Bible would picture Him in this way?
In James 4:5, the Bible reveals the intense yearning of the Holy Spirit to have us entirely for Himself. That should be no surprise to us. He is our Indweller, our Shelter our Sanctifier, and our Source of power. His attention, His gifts, His power, and His Word are all directed toward us. He is in love with us!
The Holy Spirit is so in love with us that He wants more, more, more, and more of us. Every day He wants our time, our attention, our devotion, and our fellowship. If we deny the Holy Spirit what He wants from us, He cries out, "I need you! I must have you! I want to fill you, empower you, and flood you with My divine love and life!"
Never forget that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Lover who lives on the inside of us. He passionately yearns to fulfill His responsibility to the Father to help, teach, guide, and empower us.
The Holy Spirit desires to possess us - all of us. Because of this intense desire, He is focused on changing us, empowering us, conforming us to the image of Jesus Christ, and helping us fulfill God's plan for our lives.
Learn how to yield to the Holy Spirit. Allow Him to have more and more of you each day. Satisfy the yearning of this Divine Lover. Let the Holy Spirit love you! Let Him control you! Let Him exercise His authority in your life and flood you with His divine desire!
He is your every day Valentine!
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