The primary focus of today's podcast is the significance of the Holy Spirit, articulated as the kindest person one may encounter. I will explain how this divine presence influences our lives by offering guidance, comfort, and the assurance of connection with the divine. It is imperative to acknowledge that the Holy Spirit is not merely an abstract force, but rather a relational entity eager to engage with us on a personal level.

Through our reflections, we will explore the power of the Holy Spirit in navigating life's complexities and the importance of recognizing His gentle nudges in our daily existence. I invite you to embark on this journey of understanding, as we delve into the depths of the Holy Spirit's character and His role in our spiritual lives.

Takeaways:

1. The content shared on Living the Selah Life serves primarily for spiritual encouragement and personal reflection.
2. Listeners are encouraged to consult licensed healthcare providers for any health concerns, as the podcast does not provide professional advice.
3. Kimberly Lockinour emphasizes the importance of recognizing the Holy Spirit as an essential guide in the Christian faith.
4. The Holy Spirit is portrayed as the kindest person within the Trinity, offering gentle guidance and support in daily life.
5. Developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit requires time, attention, and trust to recognize His voice and guidance.
6. The podcast invites listeners to create intentional pauses in their lives to reconnect with God and seek the Holy Spirit's presence.

Links referenced in this episode:

1. 888-radionetwork.com
2. prayhopeloveradio.com

The content shared on Living the Selah Life is for spiritual encouragement, personal reflection, and informational purposes only.

It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or replace medical, psychological or professional advice of any kind.

Please consult a licensed healthcare provider or qualified professional for any physical, mental or emotional health concerns.

The views expressed are those of the host, Kimberly Lockanore, and are based on personal experience and Biblical insight, not clinical training.

Welcome back to Living the Selah Life, a podcast that invites you to slow down, breathe deep, and reconnect with the presence of God.

I am your host, Kim, and this space is for anyone longing to become more familiar with his presence.

Whether you're just discovering what it means to pause with God or you've been walking this path for a while, I'm so glad you're here.

Each episode is an intentional pause, a moment to reflect, realign, and remember that God meets us when we create space for Him.

So take a breath.

You are right on time.

Let's live the Selah life together.

Hey there friends.

Welcome back to Living the Selah Life.

This week we are actually going to talk about something different.

I know last week we spoke about hearing from God and some practical ways to do that.

And I said that we were going to talk about finding peace in the middle of life's storms when life is lifing, how to still be able to connect with God.

But you know, we're not going to talk about that this week.

We're going to talk about something else.

We will talk about that next week though, I promise.

So this week I want to introduce you to someone who has completely changed my life and how I understand God, his love and his guidance, the way he leads and just everything about Him.

And I was not going to do this episode today because me and my sister, Shameless Plug, have a podcast called this Ain't it on this same network.

You can view the website for showtimes.

That's at 888- radionetwork.com or prayhopeloveradio.com we are getting ready to do a series on the Holy Spirit in a few weeks.

And so I was like, I'll just wait till then.

But I kept feeling the nudge to do it.

So we are going to talk about the person of the Holy Spirit.

You will often hear me say that he is the kindest person that I know because he is.

He is also the most misunderstood person of the Trinity.

But before we dive deeper, I want to introduce you to some specific Selah moments.

Some of you might have already seen them online like Selah Sword or Selah shield, things of that nature.

I just want to tell you what that is and what these different categories mean so that if you hear me say today's Selah moment comes from Selah Trumpet, because I know you'll listen to me for a long time, you will know that Taylor Trumpet is like a holy announcement.

You're declaring who God is and what he has done, whether he's blessed your home, your work, your family.

You're sharing some kind of testimony.

So I'll just go through a few of them because you will hear them on this podcast and that you will know it's not something different.

It's just a way to categorize our quiet times that we spend with God, our quiet moments, our quiet pauses.

And it's fun.

So we have Selah's word, and this is the word in your hand or on your tongue.

You can take a verse and let it read you.

You can speak it out loud and carry it with you throughout your day so that the truth of that word can sink in.

So that's Selah Sword.

That's actually one I've posted online recently.

Selah Shield safe under his covering.

Today's teaching actually comes from there.

You sit with God and you welcome his protection over your mind, your body, your home, your assign peace settles.

Selah whispers.

That's listening prayer, which is my favorite.

You give God your attention and just notice the gentle nudges.

You're not doing much speaking.

You are listening for his gentle whispers.

And then we have Selah table.

And that's at the God at the center of everyday moments.

So you can think of it as your dinner table, your dining room table, your desk at work, like mine.

Well, it's called Selah table.

And then we have the Selah altar Surrender.

It's our altar, guys.

Selah well, receiving refreshment.

Selah rain.

You know, God coming into your everyday fresh outpouring.

You come dry and ask God to water the hidden places, things like that.

So if you hear these different types of Selahs mentioned in this podcast, just know I'm not making them up as I go.

They've always been here.

I'm just starting to use them more.

So let's dive into our main teaching for today, which is entitled the Holy Spirit, the kindest person I know.

And I will start off by telling you, when I first got saved 20 plus years ago, the pastor said that God is sitting on the throne.

He used the scripture that God is sitting on the throne.

Jesus is at the right hand of The Father actively interceding and that the Holy Spirit lives in us.

He's active in the earth.

What I heard was the earth where I am, that's the guy that I want.

And so from the beginning, inception, the beginning of my salvation, I always, always, always sought out this person called the Holy Spirit, because my pastor said that he lived inside of me and I needed to talk to Him.

So for many, many years, it was all about the Holy Spirit that lives inside of me.

And I did not know what God was doing at the time because he did not correct me until many years later.

Actually, I heard, do you ever wonder if the Father and the Son likes to communicate with you?

And I'm like, hmm, hmm.

So I say all that to say I am very intimately acquainted with the Holy Spirit.

And I thought that everybody was.

I just thought that.

And I probably was a little naive to think that, but because of how my salvation began and how I latched on from the beginning to the person of the Holy Spirit, I just thought everybody was.

And as I'm now learning to discover later in life that many, many of us are trying to live this life, life, this Christian life, this walk with Christ, without Him.

Him being a.

A secondhand thing or him being a side option.

And that is why we see so much of the stuff that we see even within the church, other than the fact that we're human.

Because I'm not downing anybody.

The purpose of me even bringing this up is I don't want you to be one of those people that think that the Holy Spirit is optional, that hearing from him and believing that you're receiving his guidance, because that has a lot to do with it.

Believing that you're receiving his guidance, knowing that exactly what the Bible says He will do, he will do, and he is doing it.

The problem can sometimes be, is that we don't believe that he's doing it.

And so we don't lean into that inner knowing or his guidance or his voice, which we learn it to be his voice over time.

But in the beginning, you may not know that.

It just may be an inner nudge.

It may be a thought, it may be a conversation that came to your head.

He does it with me and my sister's conversation all the time.

Because he's not rude.

He doesn't say rude things, but people say rude things.

And that thought will play in your mind, and you're like, oh, okay.

But you learn his leading, you learn his guidance, and biggest of all, you have to believe that he's doing it.

Because Jesus said that he would.

That is probably the biggest hindrance and the biggest hurdle I see with my fellow Christians is that they do not believe that the Holy Spirit is doing it.

They think it's their own mind, their own thoughts, their own everything.

And if you do not take God at His word, what he said, and be willing to.

I always, I told God before when Covid came, this is my stance.

You said you would protect me from pestilence.

If I perish, I perish.

At least I will perish standing on Psalms 91 because I believe the words of this Bible.

So I'm going to stand on the words of this Bible.

And when you have that kind of stance toward the Holy Spirit, I need you to guide me.

Jesus said that you would do that.

There's plenty references in Scripture where you did.

I do not know where I'm going.

So I am going to believe that you're doing that as I actively seek your guidance.

I'm going to walk, walk forward, and I am going to believe that you are doing that.

And when you do that, you will find he has always been there.

Why you aren't the one that ended up dead, why you aren't the one that ended up in the car accident, why you were the one that ended up saying the right thing at the right time, or why you missed so and so mishap.

You will realize that he was there all the time.

But it worked, works so much better for your life when you actively participate.

Because he is so much more than giving you direction and guidance on, like, where to go in life.

Like, that's huge.

But he's so much more than that.

And I want to talk to you about that today because for me, it has been what has kept me in this saved walk.

It has been.

I mean, he's everything.

He's my absolute best friend.

He absolutely is.

He goes much beyond just leading us and guiding us in decision makings and things like that.

He helps us regulate our emotions.

He helps us in things that are so small that you wouldn't even think to tell a friend because it would seem foolish.

And even those things he helps me with.

But the key is you have to ask him.

And I'm so used to asking now, it's like second nature.

I just do, because I know he will say.

And do I always feel like I hear a clear answer?

No.

But he also makes you use the wisdom that you already have sometime.

And I have an overarching belief that he is guiding me because I'm his child.

And The Word said that he would.

So he has a personality.

And that personality is marked by incredible kindness.

In John, chapter 16, verses 13, Jesus tells us, however, when he, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will tell you things to come.

And I want you to know that sometimes that truth that he guides you to comes through a person.

Not always can he guide people to the Word directly and they understand the message that he's trying to say in the context that they need it for their lives.

So many, many times he has guided me to men and women of God who have lived longer than I and have testimonies that I had yet to experience.

And by hearing their testimony, I was then able to understand that Word.

Or he will lead you and guide you to a pastor, a preacher, a teacher, a friend in the church, somebody.

He will lead you and guide you so that you are able to obtain and hold on to the truth.

And it's not always immediately starting with the Word.

It'll line up with the Word, but it does not always start there.

And some people miss him that way because they say it's just a man.

And that's not the case.

He often, often speaks through the experience of others and testimonies and just teachings through men.

And let me be clear, when I say men, I mean the, the human race.

As in Adam, it could be a man or a woman.

So in the scripture, John, chapter 16, verses 13, you heard that he guides us into all truth.

It didn't say he drags us, he scares us, he manipulates us, he leads and guides us into all truth.

Whatever he speaks is what he hears from the Father.

So he tells us what's coming so that we can be prepared.

And this is the heart of who he is.

He is a caring person who wants, he desires to walk through this life with us.

He wants to help us understand what the Father is saying, showing us which way to go and comforting us when we're hurting.

So I'll tell you what this has looked like in my own life on numerous occasions.

In some of these past seasons, it was daily.

There have been so many times when I was confused and overwhelmed.

Seasons of transition can bring that, and God knows that.

And I would simply say, holy Spirit, I need your help.

I need your help.

Not this long drawn out prayer.

Holy Spirit, I need your help.

I need your help emotionally this day.

I need you to help me this day to change my perspective and the way that I'm thinking so that my emotions can be different.

And he does it every time, every single time.

Because all we need sometimes is a shift in perspective.

And not saying that everything is always peachy, because it is far from that, even in my own life.

But if we have to walk through situations and circumstances anyway, my thought on that is I choose to do it in peace and with joy, no matter the circumstance.

And you can only do that with the Holy Spirit.

So when I don't feel joy, because that is my default setting, I am immediately inquiring, what do I need to do to get back to my place of joy?

What perspective shift do I need?

What mindset shift do I need to happen in this day?

Not tomorrow, today, so that I can go into this day differently.

And I sit with him, and it never, ever fails.

He is a very present help when we need Him.

The Holy Spirit has never spoken to me in harsh tones or made me feel condemned when I've made mistakes.

He's always has a way of leading me back to truth.

That feels like love, that feels gentle and patient and full of hope.

For who?

The person that I am becoming.

And that is what he is doing in your life too, my friend, whether you recognize it or not.

He is.

In Second Corinthians, chapter 3, verses 18, and this is one of my absolute favorite scriptures, it says, but we all with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Do you see how beautiful that is?

The Holy Spirit is changing you and me into the image of Jesus, and He is doing it from glory to glory.

So this means that the change happens gradually.

The transformation happens as we behold Jesus as we spend time with him, listen to his voice through the Holy Spirit, and receive his love.

And the Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and reveals it to us.

And that revelation changed me from the inside out.

It let me know that God intended for me to live in complete intimacy with Him.

That's actually the goal.

And he intends that for you too.

And then here's something else to understand about the Holy spirit in Ezekiel 36, 27.

And I might have already pointed this out, but I just want you to see that he's not an option.

He is a must.

He's a must.

So In Ezekiel, chapter 36, verses 27, God promises, I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statues, and you will keep my judgment and do them so he said he will put his Spirit in Ezekiel.

He will cause him, that he would cause him to walk in his statues.

And we know when he causes us to do something, generally that comes through the things that we go through.

And you will keep my judgments and do them.

God knew that Ezekiel ignore us, could walk this walk with him without His Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit within us is what enables us to actively live like Jesus, to even pursue him, to even want to pursue Him.

He doesn't just give us good advice and hope, we follow it.

He empowers us from the inside to walk in his ways.

So this means when the Holy Spirit speaks to you, when he nudges you, when he brings something to your mind, you have to be prepared to listen.

And if you don't feel like you are hearing from Him, I need that to be your number one focus going forward.

If you don't feel like he's guiding you, if you don't feel like he's leading you, he's not something extra.

He is the Christian Walt.

He is not optional.

He is it.

You can't do it without Him.

You can't walk in love.

You can't love your family correctly.

You can't.

You.

You just cannot do it.

It's not possible because we don't possess the capacity to do it.

Which is why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit from the beginning.

And I have been guilty of ignoring the nudges, ignoring the promptings.

And I have been guilty on many occasions of feeling a nudge to call somebody, or feeling a prompting to say something, or feeling a prompting to be quiet and didn't do it.

And I don't have to tell you how those situations went for me when I ignored it.

That is how you learn over time if you don't know his guidance.

I have learned that developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit is like developing any other friendship or relationship.

That it takes time, attention, and trust.

The more I've made space to listen to him, the more familiar his voice became.

The more I've trusted in his guidance, the more confident I've become that he is actually guiding me.

So if you've never thought of the Holy Spirit as a person you can talk to, today might be the day that that changes.

And I really hope that it is.

In Philippians, chapter 2, verses 13, God tells us that.

For it is God who works in you both to will and to do, for his good pleasure.

You know what that means?

Do you know what that means?

That God is the one who puts the desire in your heart to seek Him.

And he's the one who enables you to actually connect with Him.

He's working on both sides of the equation.

So if you've been longing to know God better, to hear his voice, to experience the Holy Spirit more, that desire didn't even come from you.

God put that hunger in your heart because he wants to meet it.

So I am going to have to move on.

I might have to do a part two to this episode because I am running out of time.

So I'm going to move on to our Scripture Spotlight for today.

It comes From John, chapter 16, verses 7 through 8, and verses 13 through 15.

And it says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.

But if I depart, I will send him to you.

And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.

However, when he, the Spirit of Truth has come, he will guide you into all truth.

For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.

And he will tell you things to come.

He will glorify Me, for He will take what is mine and declare it to you.

All things that the Father has are mine.

Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you again.

That is John, chapter 16, verses 7 through 8.

And then I jumped to verses 13 through 15.

So this passage reveals some amazing things about the character of the Holy Spirit.

One, that he is the helper.

Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our helper, which is someone who stands with us, assists us, and comes alongside us in every situation.

Jesus also said, it is to your advantage that he was leaving because the Holy Spirit will come.

Now, let's think about that.

Jesus believed that the Holy Spirit's presence with us would be even better than his physical presence with the disciples.

The Conviction the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment.

But notice, this is toward the world, not toward believers.

His work in our lives is to guide us and reveal truth to us.

He does bring about conviction and and righteousness and the process of what we call sanctification.

But notice, he says the world.

He is our guide.

The Holy Spirit guides us into all truth.

He doesn't force us or beat us over the head.

He leads us gently, showing us the way forward, step by step.

It says he speaks words what he hears.

The Holy Spirit doesn't speak on his own authority, but speaks whatever he hears from the Father.

This means everything.

He communicates to us is aligned with God's heart.

His voice carries the love and wisdom of heaven.

Never mind that he is God, but you know, we'll leave that right there.

He tells us things to come.

The Holy Spirit prepares us for what lies ahead.

He doesn't just leave us to stumble blindly through life.

So if you feel like that, that is the case in your life.

I urge you, urge you, urge you to invest some time into getting to know Him.

He glorifies Jesus.

Everything the Holy Spirit does points us toward Jesus.

He doesn't draw attention to himself, but he reveals more of who Jesus is as and what he has done.

And this is one of the reasons why he's one of the most misunderstood persons of the Trinity.

It's because humility is not even the word.

He draws attention to Christ.

He came with an assignment.

And what does the world say?

I understood the assignment.

He understood the assignment.

So he draws attention to Christ.

And he often will be in the background being the most powerful person in the world on this planet, ever.

He shrinks in the background and allows us to invite him in.

Come on, somebody.

And he declares, what is Jesus?

The Holy Spirit takes what belongs to Jesus and declares it to us.

He's constantly revealing God's heart, God's truth, and God's love in ways that we can understand and receive it.

I am going to have to do a part two to this, and you guys have to send me an email and let me know if you like this teaching or not.

Because I am in love.

Okay, so we will move into this week's pause prompts.

And remember, pause prompts are just gentle reflections so that you can gauge where you are.

They are not meant to for you to judge yourself or to think critically of yourself.

We cannot move from where we are if we don't recognize it.

So here we go.

Pause prompt number one.

Take a moment to breathe and just invite the Holy Spirit to meet you in this reflection time.

So how do you typically think about the Holy Spirit?

Do you see him as a person or more as a force or a power?

When you pray or read Scripture, have you ever sensed a gentle guidance or encouragement that felt different from your own thoughts?

And what was that like?

How would your relationship with God change if you truly believe the Holy Spirit wanted to be your daily companion and guide and that he is?

And what would it look like to start each day by simply saying hello to the Holy Spirit and asking him to lead you?

Last but not least, if you could ask the Holy Spirit what one question right now, what would it be?

Take a moment to ask him and notice what comes to mind.

Remember, he is patient, he is kind.

He is the kindest person that I know.

How he teaches me to be more gentle is he is so gentle, but yet so powerful.

He chooses to be gentle.

The words that he say, I. I once got a whole revelation that just floored me about the things that God does not say to us.

We are often asking God to speak, speak, speak, Lord, I want to hear your voice.

I want to hear your voice.

But we never stop to think about God knows everything and he never chooses to say the things that would shatter our whole soul because he knows what we're doing from the beginning, from the end.

But he never chooses to say those hurtful things.

He never chooses to nag on a particular behavior.

He never chooses to use his words in a negative manner that brings about a result that he's not looking for and that is powerful.

My friends, let's move into our second Selah moments and prayer.

So this is our opportunity to personally encounter the Holy Spirit and experience his kindness for ourselves.

So we'll begin by simply saying, holy Spirit, I invite you into this moment.

I want to know you better.

Please do not worry about saying the perfect thing or being perfect or any of that.

He responds to sincerity of heart.

I want you to place your hand on your heart and take a few deep breaths and ask the Holy Spirit to make his presence known to you in whatever way is best for you.

Tell today.

Spend a few moments in quiet listening.

Simply rest in the fact that he wants to communicate with you.

Notice any gentle thoughts, pictures or impressions that come to mind.

If there is something specific that you're facing today, ask the Holy Spirit for His guidance.

He promises to lead you into truth and prepare you for what's ahead.

Trust that he will answer in his kindness and perfect timing.

That is probably the biggest point I want to drive home today.

Please believe that the Holy Spirit is doing exactly what God said, what Jesus said that he would do.

And you have to believe that when you come from that place, even no matter how shaky in the beginning, if you work to get into rest concerning that word that he's leading you, I promise you your entire life will change.

So, Holy Spirit, thank you for being the kindest person that I know that we know.

Thank you for your patience with us as we learn to recognize your voice and trust your guidance.

We confess that sometimes we make you more complicated than you are when you only want to be our friend and our helper.

Forgive us for the times we've been afraid of being deceived.

Instead of trusting that you long to reveal truth to us, help us remember that if we're seeking you with sincere hearts, you are meeting us that you're not playing an evil game of hide and seek with your presence.

Teach us to notice the ways that you speak throughout our days when we need direction.

Give us confidence that you will guide us.

Thank you that you never force or manipulate or condemn.

We thank you for leading us with such gentleness and love.

Help us trust that you really do have our best interests at heart in spite of us, and that following your lead will always bring us closer to the Father's love.

We want to know you better, Holy Spirit.

Make yourself known to us in ways that will draw us into deeper relationship with you.

It is in Jesus name that I pray, and it is so and we'll take a minute to sit in our Selah moment.

Sa.

Sam.

Thank you for listening to Living the Selah life.

If this moment stirred something in your spirit, please share it with someone who needs to be reminded to pause and to listen.

You can connect with me on Instagram, I have a Facebook group with daily Devotionals or on YouTube at Living the Selah Life.

Or email me your story to Living the Selah liferoton Me.

That's Living the Selah Life at P R O T O N Me.

So until next time, remember that God is special speaking.

He wants to guide you and direct you and give you his wisdom for your life.

Create space to listen.

Be patient with yourself as you learn and trust that the same God who spoke the universe into existence wants to speak into your everyday life.

So may you go from this place rested not just in body but in spirit, carrying the awareness that his presence is always near.

May you be rooted not in the shifting voices around you, but in the unshakable word of God, the Logos that ground you and the rhema that guides you.

For men does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

And may you keep rising into the life he's designed for you, into purpose, into peace, into the fullness of his calling.

May you become a living Selah in Jesus name.

And it is so Selah.