When we hear the word “conform”, we tend to immediately think of “don’t conform to this world”. But, there is another kind of conforming that happens as we passionately pursue Jesus that involves the Holy Spirit. Many things are said about the Holy Spirit that are cute religious banter, but not very true. One is, “the Holy Spirit is a gentlemen, He will never move unless we give Him permission”. Really, a gentle man? Did the Apostle Paul (Saul at the time) sign a pink slip giving the Holy Spirit permission to throw him on the ground and strike him blind for three days? Or what about Ananias and Sapphria? Did they say to the Holy Spirit, “yes, we give you permission to kill us…thank you”.


The Holy Spirit is our comforter because there are going to be times when we are VERY uncomfortable. He likes to move on His terms, not ours. He doesn’t mind coloring outside the lines, breaking out of boxes, and offending minds to reveal hearts. This is because He has a mission as a conformist. He wants nothing more than our lives to conform to the image of Christ. He wants our lives to shine and shine brightly the glory of Jesus to the darkest places around. We’ve been called to shape environments (salt, light, leaven), but in order to make such an impact, our lives have to reflect Jesusness.


He will go to any lengths to conform us to the image of Jesus. What sometimes may seem and feel like spiritual warfare could be the Holy Spirit attacking our flesh. The onslaught might be Him bringing in heaven’s artillery to pound our pride. The Holy Spirit came in Acts 2 to bring power and boldness to take Jesus and His message to the ends of earth. His mission hasn’t changed and He wants the sons and daughters of God to function at full capacity, shining with tremendous wattage that pierces the darkest of dark. Darkness is just the absence of light and we are the light.


A very dangerous thing to pray is, “Holy Spirit, whatever you want to do in my life, no matter the cost, I will pay the price”. The amazing thing about that prayer is the reward far outweighs the price. When we give ALL of us, He in turn gives us ALL of Him. That’s the best deal on earth. So, surrender yourself to Him and flip the switch, you may be surprised how brightly you shine!