Grieving God

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4: 30 (NIV) It seems that pain has a way of drawing us closer to God. God knew all about pain and grief. He watched His Son die on the cross for our miserable sins. I remember one time when I was pinning a diaper on my daughter (back before Pampers). I caught her skin on the pin. My poor girl cried in pain, and I cried right along with her, knowing I had hurt her — not on purpose, of course, but still I had hurt her. I cried all day. I carried her, trying to reassure her that I loved her, and that I didn’t hurt her by choice. God chose to send Jesus to the cross. He could not hold His Son in His arms and try to tell Him that He didn’t mean it. God sent Jesus to the cross of H is own free will, and Jesus agreed to it. That time of grief for God the Father and His Son, Jesus, must have been beyond words. I can’t imagine the pain that Father God felt as He saw Jesus dying for our sins. Each time we stray from our walk, each time we make a choice that we know is not a godly choice, and each time we deliberately turn our ear from God’s voice, we grieve God. Of course, we are going to make mistakes because we are still human. But God, in His love and mercy, has given us the Bible as a roadmap to use here on earth. Let’s not grieve the Holy Spirit. Isaiah 30:21a says, “Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it’” (NKJV). — June Cardinal-Howse   Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website. Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org