“I can change my mind, but only the Holy Spirit can change my heart.” ~ Jack Deere
Years ago, coal miners would die from toxic gases in their unventilated mines. Someone realized canaries were sensitive to these gasses and would succumb to their effects sooner than humans. So miners would take canaries with them into the mines. If a canary began to show signs of toxicity, the workers knew it was time to evacuate.
As followers of Jesus, we have a similar warning system inside us: the Holy Spirit. When we are in situations that are dangerous or where we might be tempted to sin, the Spirit sends urgent signals for us to get out of harm’s way. If we trust him, we’ll pay attention and run.
Not only did the canary in the mine warn of danger, he also was an indicator when all was well. If the canary was singing, the men could work without worries about the air they were breathing. Productivity increased when there was a sense of security.
As we learn to know the Holy Spirit better, we learn to turn our attention toward him when we get anxious. If we sense he isn’t worried, we shouldn’t be either. Instead of letting anxiety prevail, we can learn to connect to him as our stability, our source of peace.
We need to get to know this Spirit better so we’ll sense danger when it’s there and have peace when it’s not. It’s beyond imagination, but the Holy Spirit is actually is our protector, and we are better off when we get in the habit of giving him our attention and trusting him to guide.
“. . . do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” – 1 Corinthians 6:19a
Walking Together on Holy Ground 
I belong to God. I follow God’s instructions, using my body to glorify God. I take care of my physical, emotional and mental health. I strive to live by God’s moral values. not the culture’s moral code. Trivial matters are settled within the church among my brothers and sisters.
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I do hear from the Holy Spirit. Often he brings to mind a verse or phrase from Scripture or he gives me an insight as I am reading the Bible. I will sense that he wants me to do something or not do something and realize he is directing me. I ask him always to guide my thinking and my decisions and, looking back, I can see times when he did that.
Sometimes, if I’m not sure it his him speaking or my own thoughts, I thank him anyway for helping me to think things through. I see him open opportunities for me or shut them down. I do my best to be in constant connection with the Holy Spirit by acknowledging his presence with me throughout the day and by pausing to listen for his direction or his message.
And, yes, sometimes it is a warning – a sense that I needed to fix something or change course – physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.
I was surprised when years ago I began to read the writings of and about great Christians of the past and realized they all seems to have this sense of hearing regularly from God: Paul Tournier, D. L. Moody, Frank Laubach, Mary Ghee, Eugene Peterson, Dallas Willard, etc.
There are some books that helped me learn to understand better the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They include The Forgotten God by Francis Chan, parts of The Pursuit of God by A. W. Tozer, and one I am reading now titled Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer.
I hope that is of some help. It’s a way of life worth pursuing.
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