The Perplexing Work of the HOLY SPIRIT

The Perplexing Work of the HOLY SPIRIT

Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” - Acts 2:12

The crowd didn’t know what to think.

Picture it this way: You are in this crowd. You are a member of the Jewish faith. You have traveled a great distance to reach Jerusalem, a place where the language is different from your own. You are there to celebrate the annual Jewish festival of Pentecost. Suddenly, in this happy crowd of people you hear something that grabs your attention. You hear the voice of a man speaking to you in your own language. What’s really confusing is that all the people around you – no matter what nation or language they’ve come from – everyone is experiencing the same thing. In that moment, in that slice of time, you really don’t know what to think.

On that day of Pentecost, that was the perplexing work of the HOLY SPIRIT. On that day, the HOLY SPIRIT enabled the disciples of JESUS to speak in languages they had never studied. He did this to proclaim a message that everyone there needed to understand. He did this to proclaim JESUS CHRIST.

The work of the HOLY SPIRIT is still perplexing.

Go to any place where the good news of JESUS CHRIST is clearly present. Why do people take the time to come? Why do people go to the trouble? Why do people often plan their calendars around the opportunity to soak up the message of JESUS CHRIST with others?

It’s all because of the perplexing work of the HOLY SPIRIT.

In the eyes of the world, nothing so plain as the Gospel should be so powerful. Nothing so plain as the Gospel should be so life-changing. Nothing so plain as the Gospel should have such an impact on so many souls.

But that’s the thing about the message of full forgiveness through faith in JESUS CHRIST. It’s the very tool the HOLY SPIRIT uses to change hearts forever.

However, don’t be perplexed by the perplexing work of the HOLY SPIRIT. Instead, rejoice in it.

This daily devotion from whataboutJESUS.com, I believe is the true definition of speaking in Tongues.

It is a gift that is given of the HOLY SPIRIT by His designation, to accomplish spreading a message that you would be physically incapable of doing, then the HOLY SPIRIT speaks through you allowing you to communicate to another in a language you do not speak but they understand.

It is not something you can call forth or learn and after the HOLY SPIRIT has used you as a messenger of His message, you will not retain the use or ability to do with or use as you please. The gift of Tongues is not some strange unidentified combination of sounds but a manifestation of the HOLY SPIRIT for a specific purpose and situation.

The HOLY SPIRIT chooses the messenger, the recipients and the time and place. It still happens according to His choosing today. This happened to my mom when she and my dad where on a mission trip to Russia.