Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire . . . to rest on each one of them. // Acts 2:3
Some months before my book Jesus Approaches was due for release, someone from my archdiocese asked me to create an eight-week bible study to accompany it, an enormous task. In my experience, it would take years of prayer and thought for such a project.
Still, though the deadline seemed impossible, I felt called to the task and had a deep desire to do it. I set to work and would have landed myself in a frenzy but for one prayer led by a woman who was helping to bring the study to her parish. I came to know her as an exceptionally holy woman, generous and loving, a true leader in women’s ministry.
She opened our planning meeting by asking the Holy Spirit to come and to guide our efforts. As she prayed, I felt the Holy Spirit come into the room. In that moment, that mini-Pentecost, every anxiety fell from me. I was filled with a renewed confidence that if this study was the Lord’s plan, He would give us the resources necessary for its development and implementation.
Since then, thousands of women have completed it.
I am learning, slowly, slowly, how much easier life is when the Holy Spirit is invited to be in charge. And the Holy Spirit is teaching me, patiently, patiently, the difference between reacting to a need and responding to one. Reacting very rarely achieves anything valuable; whereas responding to a need, when that response is steeped in prayer and directed by the Holy Spirit, can accomplish far more than I ever thought possible.
When you are feeling inadequate to fulfill your mission, place yourself in Pentecost—literally and viscerally, place yourself under the tongues of fire of the Holy Spirit and let Him enable you to respond to the needs around you. Remember it was “the Spirit [who] enabled [the apostles]” to fulfill their mission (Act 2:4), not the Apostles.
Are you self-enabled or Holy Spirit-enabled? Are there specific calls in your life you want to place under His guiding fire? Let the Holy Spirit burn over you, through you. Let Him do His thing.
Place yourself in Pentecost. // Liz Kelly Click to tweet
Liz Kelly Stanchina is a jazz singer who met Jesus in late-night adoration. She is the community leader for women’s formation at the Word on Fire Institute and the author of more than a dozen award-winning books, including Jesus Approaches, Love Like a Saint, and the Blessed is She Advent devotional A Thrill of Hope. She holds advanced degrees in creative writing and Catholic studies. She is trained as a spiritual director, leading retreats and speaking around the world with a particular focus on helping women to flourish in their faith. Visit her website at LizK.org or follow her on Instagram at LizKToday.
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