A Simple Change Of Mind Was Not Enough

Having surrendered to the inevitability of this new perspective, implementing it was a very different thing.  No matter how much I studied or how hard I worked, some of these paradoxes still eluded me.  In other instances I seemed completely incapable of following even the most basic of instructions. 

Several people offered answers to many of these questions, but their solutions seldom reconciled.  Picking the proposed solution that made the most sense to me or that most quickly alleviated the resulting anxiety eventually proved ineffective.  I needed help.  I needed help from a source whose experience and authority exceeded my own and who proved more reliable than anyone else I knew at the time.  Little did I know that same Jesus already had provided just what I needed. 

Jesus promised to send me a helper.  Jesus called this helper the Holy Spirit and said he would teach me everything I needed to know.  (John 14:16-29)  This was going to lead to another problem, because some people (Jesus referred to them as "the world") would not be able to detect this Holy Spirit or become familiar with him.  (John 14:17)  The Apostle Paul warned us that these communications from the Holy Spirit would not make sense to people who did not know how to relate to him or discern his instruction.  (I Corinthians 2:12-16)  They lack the requisite capacity to be aware of or to sense whatever the Holy Spirit sees fit to communicate, leading to the understandable result that they would reject any conclusions based on the evidence He offered. 

Another problem lies in the fact that different people purport to receive apparently conflicting communications from the Holy Spirit at the same time.  This can happen even among the most accomplished of those who endeavor to follow Jesus and the Holy Spirit.  Chapter 15 of the Book of The Acts of the Apostles tells us how Paul and Barnabas could not agree on whether to take John-Mark with them on their second missionary journey.  The text does not tell us that the two men prayed or asked for the Holy Spirit's instruction.  Perhaps they did not do that.  Perhaps one of them did and the other did not.  Perhaps both did and perceived to have heard differing instructions.  The text does not tell us.  The text does tell us that an irritation or contention over this issue became so extreme that they elected to go their separate ways. 

As unverifiable as this help seemed to be, it was and is the only solution to my problem I have been able to identify as having been provided by Jesus and His Father.  I was going to have to learn how to develop a sensitivity to His communication methods.  Being wholly unable to explain - much less detect - this newly discovered presence in my life,  I had no other options.  I had to approach this Holy Spirit in the best way I could identify and ask His help.  I did not know how to ask His help, so I just did it.  I got down on my knees and asked this Holy Spirit to reveal Himself to me and to help me.  He did.  He continues to do so today, so long as I remember to stop and ask Him for his instruction and help.