#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 21 by Chiz @lemonie_

Dear Worrywarts, this one is for you.
I tend to be a worrywart. I can worry about even the littlest things like 'what if my phone dies and my dad can't reach me and thinks something has happened' or 'what if I fail this exam', etc. A friend would tell me about their issues and I would begin to worry on their behalf.
Worrying is a lot of stress and instead of enjoying a process, I would worry about what the outcome would be.
I remember in my final year, when rumours of our first semester results started flying about. I heard all sorts, about how people failed and the general performance was horrible. I started flashing back to each paper and thinking about how I had forgotten to write down an important case or mixed up my sections. I didn't sleep well for some days!
Then one morning as I was reading my Open Heavens, I saw something that hit me, well that the Holy Spirit led me to focus on (as I was rushing for a class).

Philippians 4: 6-7 'Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.'

What I understand by this is that instead of constantly stressing and worrying about every single thing, all I need to do is to pray about it and let God know my fears and He take it from there and give me His peace that surpasses all human understanding.

Also,

Matthew 6 v 27 'Who of you by 

worrying can add an hour to his life?'

(This actually hit me while watching Selma, which goes to show that the Holy Spirit can use any medium to reach you).
It's not been easy not to worry at all but I always try to make a conscious effort to remember these passages and then pray and leave it to God to take care of. Believe me it's been great so far.
So for all you worrywarts out there, I hope this blesses you as much as it blessed me.

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 20 by Abimbola Johnson Olabode

It has been just over five years since I gave my life to Christ and I have to affirm this truth that it is the best decision I have ever made.

The Holy Spirit.. man oh man, I owe Him my life. It was the summer of 2014 that I really met Him. This was in the middle of one of the most toughest seasons of my life so far. I remember going to God in prayer and telling Him something along the lines of "you say I have the victory in Christ. Well, it's either I'm missing something or you are a liar! What do I have that confirms I have this victory and I can walk in this victory?" . That was when I heard, felt, saw, I don't know lol but all I know was I ended up buying Good Morning Holy Spirit by Benny Hinn. And my life has been the same again.

Since then, I have developed a relationship with Him that I ask Him to tickle me when I'm down; or I ask Him to pray for me when I don't know what to do; or to whisper a love word in my ear. My bible study time and my times of prayer have never been the same. Of recent, I have developed a core conviction that He is the most romantic person I know.

In all I have experienced of the Holy Spirit till date, I can say everything He does and says will lead a person to Jesus and promote His Lordship; will inspire love, faith and humility to  and in all men; will enlarge a person's heart of worship and intensify one's hatred of sin.

He is a gentleman and He isn't one to come uninvited. He is my sweetheart!!

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 19 by Isio Okumagba

This challenge is a wonderful reminder of the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. John 4:26 says 'But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you. Personally the Holy Spirit speaks through me though the word of God. I can remember last year I was really trusting for my visa application because I've had really bad experiences with visas and somehow in my spirit I had gotten a confirmation but I was still scared and had doubts and i remembered telling my friends to pray for me and a friend gave me this scripture. Proverbs 21:1. I felt assured through the word that the God that started a good work in my life will surely complete it. The Holy Spirit comforts me through the word when I'm down and also CONVICTS me when I'm going astray. I always remind myself that been obedient to God is far more profitable than disobedience because the word of God is a light to my path and a lamp to my feet.

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 18 by Seun Allen Taylor

So I saw this challenge and I was like, this would be such a fun and encouraging thing to do. " I am totally going to do this...........later ". 

I am not equipped enough to inspire someone else. I haven't gotten to that point yet, I still need people to invest In me. These are the thoughts that came barreling through my head almost immediately. And for a long time this has been my struggle. 

I always pray for The Lord to use me but whenever opportunities come especially when they come in the form of mentoring someone else spiritually or helping them grow, I run away. No I am not a bad person and I do want with all my heart to be able to pour into someone else but the devil always tries to lie to me that I am not capable. 

This week I decided to say no. This is where the Holy Spirit really took charge.  Sunday morning on my way to church, a friend who is one of the youth leaders at my church and I were talking. He told me that he would like to see me being more actively involved in running our bible study. My first reaction was excitement but just as quickly as it came, it left. Almost instantly I started worrying, I'm not there yet, I'm really busy right now, I'm not qualified and all these other thoughts. He encouraged me to pray about it and I told him I would, but I had already made a decision to not do it.

We got to church and when it was time for the word I prayed as I always do on Sundays. "Lord let me be blessed by your word today and let it speak to me." And then the guest minister started preaching on worship and fruitfulness. Halfway through the sermon, I was crying because I felt like God was talking directly to me. She preached about what it means to be fruitful in Gods house. The holy spirit kept telling me, if you do not start now, you are never going to ever feel qualified enough. A friend told me, if you don't realize you can impact people now, because you will constantly keep having higher goals that you haven't accomplished yet, you will never feel capable of impacting others. 

I left feeling convicted by the Holy Spirit to step completely out of my comfort zone (Introvert alert) and do more this year for God. Also, in line with my taking bigger steps for God, I decided to take a little sister in my sorority (Sigma Phi Lambda incase you were wondering) this semester which I was previously not going to do. If you are reading this please pray along with me that God uses me to bless her and help her grow in him this year, and that also I would be a light for those in my bible study and in school in general.

Lastly for anyone who has been struggling with this, you are not alone, keep praying and let the spirit lead you, not the other way around, and hold on to this verse with me keeping in mind our God is an amazing God, and he will use only those who are willing to be used.

Zechariah 4:10 New Living Translation (NLT) 

Do not despise these small beginnings,

for the Lord rejoices to see the work

begin, to see the plumb line in

Zerubbabel’s hand.  

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 17 by Ayomide Akin Oteniya

I literally just stumbled across your tumblr and blog this evening and I think it's wonderful that you're doing the Holy Spirit challenge! I've enjoyed reading all the entries so far, so I thought I'd share mine as well. So here goes.....

The Holy Spirit speaking to me has definitely been one of the most rewarding benefits of my Christian walk so far. The most vivid memory I have of this was a couple of months ago when I was revising for my final year exams. I distinctly remember for my Intellectual Property Law exam, I had prayed and asked God for guidance on what topics to revise for the exam because it wasn't possible/advisable to revise all the topics that had been covered throughout the year. It's funny because the Bible says we should ask and we will receive, I asked God for guidance and indeed he answered me through the Holy Spirit by directing me to focus on a particular topic. At the time, I wasn't able to discern as clearly the difference between my voice and that of the Holy Spirit so in my confusion, I decided it would be wiser and less of a gamble to revise another topic in conjunction with the one I had been specifically told would come out. Ofcourse, when I got to the exam, the topic came out and the exact case and area I had focused some of my revision on. If I had taken that leap of faith and focused more on the topic, I definitely would have done a lot better in the exam. But I thank God for my success through him nonetheless. 

Since then, I have focused on spending more time with God through reading my Bible and having quiet time where I sit with my Heavenly Father and listen. Because the truth is that he speaks to us ALL the time! From the most mundane things like giving up your seat on the train to an elderly person to the big stuff like career decisions. As humans, we naturally tend to speak more than we listen and this applies in our relationships with God too, but I've learnt that we have to be intentional about listening to Him and seeking after Him. Indeed the scripture says that He rewards those who seek him diligently. The relationship is definitely an ongoing process but the beautiful thing is that the more time you spend with God and in His word, the more clearly you hear His voice.

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 15 by Ibukun Aiyemo

Growing up in a Christian home helped me. From an early age of about 8, I was baptized in the Holy Ghost by my parents. At first i didn't know why and what it was and also why it had to be my birthday gift. I woke up elated for my birthday presents but all i got at first was my parents speaking in tongues and baptizing me in the Holy Spirit.
  

As time went on,I would only speak in tongues in church as people would tell me "It is only done when you are under the Spirit" (thank God i know better now). 
  

I got into high school and for every exam I had to take, my mum repeated these words " Ask the Holy Spirit to help you, bring things to your remembrance......" and out of anxiety and Faith I did. She helped me understand that the Holy Spirit was in me and I could ask Him for anything as long as it is according to the will of God. When i was looking for things I would ask Him and then find it. 
  

However, i also learned that The Holy Spirit can be grieved. Although, sometimes I would fall short and live in guilt and shame,but that's also conviction, proof that I have the Holy Spirit in me. Apart from the Holy Spirit being in the Trinity ( which i hope many people understand) , He should not be taken for granted. 
The Holy Spirit also reveals things to us, prophecies, etc. Speaking in tongues as well is not rocket science or some ritual that requires special procedures.

#TheHolySpiritChallenge Entry 14 by Iniye Spiff

My relationship with the Holy Spirit is the most interesting dynamic.. The Holy Spirit speaks to me through the most basic and random things.. I could be watching a completely non related TV program and the Holy spirit would give me a word or a lesson based off something so simple from the show or use it as a confirmation for something. I remember one time I was watching a program about illnesses once and I was just really confused about how God let some things happen to some people and others seemed free. But I kept hearing a verse over and over again “My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts.. As the heavens are higher than the earth so are my ways above yours”.  He speaks to me a lot by bringing bible verses that I wouldn't otherwise remember to my remembrance.

The Holy Spirit for me is my number 1 comforter, he is always ready to work through people for me.. I was in church one Sunday and I had cried ALL through the night before. I struggled to go to church that morning and I was just emotionally unable to partake in the service but in my mind I kept asking God to please come through for me, all of a sudden this lady that I have NEVER seen in the church before comes up to me and sits next to me during praise worship and she says “The Holy Spirit told me to come and tell you that all will be well.. That I saw you crying last night, I will not forget your tears. I am here with you and I will never leave you, my presence is all you need, I am the King and I am here”. I had goosebumps on my body and at that moment I just started crying because the Holy Spirit did his work through someone else for me. I literally have a hundred and one more examples of what the spirit has done for me but in all he is just my main Guy.. I couldn't do anything, nothing at all without Him