His Envy, My Addiction
“Or do you think it’s without reason that the Scripture says: The spirit he made to dwell in us envies intensely?”
James 4:5 CSB
What I understood of holy jealousy a few years ago has all but exploded into something so much deeper (read “Jealous Me” here). When reading the above scripture, I strongly disliked the word envy because of the negative connotations, and I told God that. But then I asked the One who knows God’s deep secrets, Holy Spirit, help me understand why James used “envy” to describe You.
The answer came as I continued meditating on this passage. The intensity of His yearning for me and my heart is analogous to the rage of a man’s envy for worldly things, perhaps even to the level of an addiction.
Addiction, another strong word, a disease that takes over the life of its host. So should I even want to be “addicted” to anything, even the Spirit of God?
The mental image of an addict arose in my mind. My experience living with an addict left a mental imprint of someone who goes to any extent to satisfy a longing that formed from habitual “use.” In that case, maybe I would want to be addicted to the Holy Spirit. The Spirit nudged the wordsmith in me to search the definition:
Addicted: devoted or given up to a practice or habit or to something psychologically or physically habit-forming. Synonyms: absorbed, attached, devoted, hooked, inclined, dependent, wedded to, given to (OnlineDictionary)
Now I want in! Yes, I want Holy Spirit—the One who dwells in me and renews my mind—to be my main practice and my psychological and physical habit. Heart, soul and strength.
- I want to be absorbed in Him
- Attached to Him
- Devoted to Him
- Hooked on Him
- Inclined toward Him
- Dependent upon Him
- Given to Him
- Wedded to Him!
“Does the Scripture mean nothing to you that says, ‘The Spirit that God breathed into our hearts is a jealous Lover who intensely desires to have more and more of us?’” (The Passion Translation)
He desires more and more of me? My heartbeat races!
Addiction is a strong word, but it makes for a good hyperbole, just as when Jesus said our devotion to Him must be so great that it makes our love for anyone else look like hatred. But, YES, this is how I desire to live, outrageously devoted to the Spirit of God.
Join me! If we make the Holy Spirit our habit, we will not gratify the desires of our flesh!
What or who is your addiction? Is it debilitating, destructive, or life-giving?
What are signs of this in your life?
Father in Heaven, thank You for being so devoted to me, that the plans You have for me are to prosper me, not to harm me; to give me a hope and a future. Renew my mind and teach my heart to be radically devoted to, and dependent upon, You alone.
Sowing Seeds of Bravery for Deeper Dependence
