By Thine Own Eternal Spirit Rule in Our Hearts Alone Day 32

I’m moving soon, and I’m thriving just thinking about the hustle and bustle of organizing and decorating while making a new place home. Most people might grit their teeth at the thought of the spreadsheets and spackle that accompany moving. But me? I’m having a blast. And as much as I’d love to only focus on what’s to come, I also have to tie up all the loose ends at my current place. At the very front of mind is how to get my security deposit back. My level of concern is almost comical, because truly, it’s such a small amount. Not to mention, I haven’t had it for nearly two and a half years. But for this apartment-moving rookie, I want to get it right. I want the victory of reclaiming my dormant deposit.

Amid today’s passages about the Holy Spirit, we come to the book of Ephesians where we find similar financial language to help us understand the reality of the Spirit for followers of Christ. As I read this passage, I couldn’t help but to compare this down payment (which the NIV translation refers to as a “deposit”) with my own. 

In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit…
The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, 
until the redemption of the possession… 
—Ephesians 1:13–14

Unlike the deposit I gave my landlord, our deposit—the Holy Spirit—is actively at work within us. The Spirit’s work in us is not a single moment we can only look back on, hoping it’s enough to carry us forward. Scripture reveals how this Third Person of the Trinity is always at work in those who follow Christ. The Spirit convicts (John 16:8), leads us to obey God’s life-giving Word (Ezekiel 36:27), and guides us “into all truth” (John 16:13), just to name a few. 

Even Jesus said it was better for us to have the Spirit walking alongside us (John 16:7). Jesus was active in this world to secure our forgiveness on the cross, and is active today interceding on our behalf before the Father. The Spirit is active in our very hearts today, reminding us that God is the One worthy of ruling in our hearts alone. The seal of the Spirit is our secure deposit, reminding us what is true of God and our identity in Him both now and forever. 

By the time you’ll be reading this, I’ll be all moved into my new apartment with two of my best friends—maybe we’ll be taking down our Christmas tree and decor, or maybe we’ll be soaking up all we can of Christmas before the new year. Maybe I will have gotten my security deposit back, or maybe not. And, we’ll have put a new security deposit down. Just like that, the cycle continues. I’m thankful for the chaos of moving and uncertain security deposits. They remind me of what is certain—the Spirit ruling in my heart.