WIND FOR YOUR SAILS 115fellowship, perfect understanding, and perfect love.
I believe it is God's will for you to be continually filled
with the Holy Spirit. Almost in the same breath that Paul
says "Be filled with the Spirit," he says, "Do not be unwise,
but understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph. 5:17).
Paul leaves no doubt that it is the Father's will that the Holy
Spirit should abide in every believer. It's God's will for
every mother, for every father, for every young person—
and for you.
Relax, Relax
In a church near Toronto I remember seeing a young
man praying to receive the infilling of the Spirit. I'll never
forget the look on his face—strained and tense. He was
literally begging and begging for an encounter with the
Holy Spirit.
I walked over to him and said, "Young man, you won't
get anything by begging. Just relax. It's so easy when you
surrender." That's what he did, and almost instantly the
Spirit came upon him. It was beautiful. A smile came over
his face as he began to pray in a heavenly language.
How do you surrender? It will never happen if you "try
to." It's like learning to swim. If you struggle to swim you'll
begin to sink, and you may even drown. That's why the
swimming instructor first teaches a child to relax and learn
to float. Swimming comes naturally when you don't fight it.
And that's the way it is with surrender—it comes
instinctively to a yielded heart. When you met your mate
for life, you didn't "try to" fall in love. It's something that is
either there or not. You don't have to work at it because
love surrenders.
When Jesus is your Lord, when you love Him with all
your heart, it's not difficult to surrender to Him. It's the