Dependency Upon the Holy Spirit

Life has so changed since when I was a little boy. As a child, I remember that most of my classmates in my small South Texas town went to church every weekend. In our children's ministry today, I have so many children that come every other weekend often due to divorced parents rotating their weekend custodial rights, other children who come once a month, and then there are those who I call CEO's (Christmas and Easter Only). Consequently, with some 1,000 children in our church under the age of 12 and a portion of them with sporadic, inconsistent attendance, knowing every child by name is an impossible task. I find myself walking through Wal-Mart smiling at every child because I don't know whether or not they are one of our kids.

How do I know the children's names? For some of the occasional attenders, I rely heavily on secretly looking at the child's nametag as I'm talking to them. How do I know the names of their siblings or parents? Often in going into the hospital to pray for a child, I first look at the constantly updated Excel spread sheet that I have on my cell phone listing every child's name and age, parent’s names, and the names of their brothers and/or sisters. Without the nametags and the file on my cell phone, I am clueless.

Believe it or not, even after 30 years of being involved in children's ministry, there are so many areas in the ministry in which I am clueless. I have more questions than answers. I only see the surface of the children (their faces, the type of clothes that they wear, the parent who drops them off or picks them up after service, etc.) I don't have a solid knowledge of what is needed in that child's life. I don't know what battles that they are facing.

Thankfully, I have the Holy Spirit to come to my rescue. Romans 8 tells me that when I am in a deficit position and am coming up lacking, the Holy Spirit is there to fill in the blanks as He makes intercession (King James English for stepping up to the plate in my behalf) and cover my inadequacies.

Thank God for the Holy Ghost. Again, thank God for the Holy Ghost. One more time, thank God for the Holy Ghost. I'm not trying to be repetitious or redundant to add to the length of this blog. I am just so dependent upon Him. And, I am learning to unashamedly become more and more dependent upon Him. Thankfully I am learning that I am so inadequate. But with Him, I can fulfill my God-given assignment and see a mighty move of God in this generation.

Stop what you are doing right now. Join me in thanking God for His precious Spirit and then articulate your dependence on Him!