The test you try to fail…

Hey saints, did you miss me?  I missed everyone while I was in Mexico. God moved greatly in the services and I was truly blessed to be there to see God’s goodness poured out to the people. 

The team I ministered with had to take a Covid test in order to come home to the states.  This is a test you definitely hope to fail.  Up to this point in the pandemic I had never received a test to determine if I had Covid-19.  If you have not had to take this particular test, I pray you will never have to have one done. On Saturday we found a clinic that gave the tests.  While I waited for my turn I asked my fellow team member, who had just came out from his test, “How was it?” his eyes looked a little teary, but he replied to me “Not bad at all.” Those would be the last words I would hear about the test as the eyes of the nurse caught my eyes and she said, in Spanish, “Next”.  I was led into a little room. After sitting down in a chair she turned her back to me to begin preparing the test.  When she turned around she had in her hand an object that looked something like a Q-tip, only this was much longer, MUCH longer.  I prepared for the rocket to make its entry into my nose.  When she thrust it up my left nostril, I thought she would stop when I know it had gotten as far as my eyes.  But no, she wasn’t done so she continued to thrust that up my nose so far I could have sworn that when she finally ended my torture and took it out, I could see some brain matter on the tip of it. At that point, I was ready to tell her anything, I mean I was ready to give up any information that I had on anybody. I probably would had even sold out my best friend.  The point is, to test for this virus they have to go deep.  So it is with the Holy Spirit.  He has to go deep in our hearts to get to those besetting sins – the ones with deep roots and the ability to hide out in the innermost parts of the heart.  To clean us from those sins it often hurts, but after we are cleansed, it brings great joy.  Allow the Holy Spirit to have all of your heart, and don’t resist when it starts to hurt.  He is there to find the sin virus and to heal us. As I boarded the plane headed home with my negative test result in hand, I couldn’t help but pray, “Father forgive me when I have stopped the Holy Spirit in my life and would not allow Him to go deep enough in my heart to reveal to me those things you want to heal and cleanse.” Church, let us allow the Holy Spirit to have all of our heart.