GRIEVE NOT THE SPIRIT


The meaning of grief is a keen mental suffering or distress over affliction or loss; a sharp sorrow; or a painful regret. Another definition of the word grief is a cause of keen distress. The only good grief is an exclamation of dismay, surprise, or relief.

Also grieve can mean to distress mentally; to cause to feel grief or sorrow.

There are some twenty Hebrew words for grieve. These words look different and differ also in the cause of the feeling being communicated.The grief spoken of in Psalm 31:10 may be from the pain and weariness of work or from advanced age. In the Bible we find many applications of the words grief and grieve.

For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away.
Psalm 31:10(NKJV)

He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:3-4(NKJV)

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.
Isaiah 53:10(NKJV)

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Ephesians 4:30(NKJV)

The Spirit of God is indwelling in Christians. As we do not ever want to cause bitter feelings toward any overnight company that we have, how much more should this apply to the Holy Spirit of God. What if we meet someone, whose company we enjoy, and invite them over at the same time we have other guests staying at our house? Our first guests would soon leave.

When company is coming over, we clean and prepare for them and treat them with respect. How much higher respect needs to be given to the Holy Spirit of God? The Spirit is a guest. When we continually move him, sooner or later he will be moved out. Consideration needs to be given that we don't crowd out the Spirit from our heart.

We should take care not to perform habitually anything that will make the Spirit have bitter feelings toward us. We must be careful to not allow the worldly lust to fight with the Spirit for the ownership of our heart, so that the Holy Spirit will not be grieved and leave us.

How good it is to receive a gift. You appreciate it and care for it. The Holy Spirit is our gift when we become Christians. We have the power of God living in us. As we go through life, that power is alive in our souls. The Holy Spirit separates us from worldly affections.

Acts 2:38 says," Then Peter said, Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "

Romans 8:1," There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. "

We read in Isaiah 63:10," But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; so He turned Himself against them as an enemy, and He fought against them. "

When we as Christians sin in a public nature, we confess before the congregation of the Lord's church where we meet. Our confession before God and the congregation, shows our sorrowful attitude for having grieved the Spirit. The remorse we have will cause us to lead a productive life for God. We will turn a new leaf.

Romans 12: 1-2 tells us," I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. "

There are three reasons we need to keep from causing bitterness. First, it will grieve the Holy Spirit. Remember, the Holy Spirit abides within us. When our hearts are filled with hostility and irritability, the Spirit is grieved.


Second, the Holy Son of God is grieved by our sin. Jesus Christ died for the sins of mankind. He left heaven and being with God to come down to this earth and live as a man. We read in John 3:16." For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. "

Third, our sins grieve God the Father. God has no part with sin. In Isaiah 59:2 we read," But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear. "

God will forgive us of our sins, we need only to obey His Word. We are to have a forgiving spirit. Many people wrestle with that. They can't forgive and forget. When we have an unforgiving spirit, it is the devil's playground. Often the people who have a hard time forgiving others are only hurting themselves, not the person who hurt them.

When we have any bitter feelings in our hearts, we treat others as Satan would treat them. The Lord wants us to treat others as He has treated us; with love, compassion, and kindness.

...bearing one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
Colossians 3:13(NKJV)

And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
Ephesians 4:32(NKJV)

We see in these verses where we are to forgive as God forgave us. When others hurt us, we are to forgive them. When we don't forgive, we grieve the Holy Spirit, God, and Jesus Christ. We need to always think of how we would not cause grief to a friend. How can we then hurt the Holy Spirit?

There are so many things which grieve the Holy Spirit, God and Jesus Christ. We should take extreme caution as to how we conduct our lives.

II Corinthians 2:4 " For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you. "

Discussion and study questions:
(1) What constitutes someone grieving the Spirit?
(2) What does it mean to grieve God and Jesus Christ?


                                                                           Copyright 2007 Linda Lawrence