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A few weeks ago, I was in a couple of cities in the North of India, animating and
praying with groups of young people who have a specific call to leadership. It was, for
me, one more time of experiencing the astonishing work of the Holy Spirit first hand.
Interestingly, I found two kinds of young people within the groups. The first were
confident, techno-savvy ones completely at ease in today’s world and exposed to
youth retreats. The second were young people who had come in from villages and
inhabited an entirely different world in terms of lifestyle, linguistic expressions,
perceptions and attitudes. For them, such a spiritual training was the first experience
of its kind. In fact, the differences were so obvious that we ended up having two
parallel sessions for both groups.
Towards the end of the programme the groups came together to pray for a fresh infilling
of the Holy Spirit. We called upon the Holy Spirit and it was a time of a great outpouring
of the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Many in both groups opened up to the Spirit and
committed themselves to the Lord. Yet when it came to manifestations of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, I was thoroughly surprised by a specially abundant outpouring of gifts on
the second group. Most of them were completely taken over by the power of the Spirit as
they freely and fluently spoke in tongues and praised the Lord. It would have been easy
to assume that the less exposed group would find it difficult to open up to the Spirit.
Yet they were the ones who were powerfully drenched in the Spirit. That’s exactly the
beauty of the Holy Spirit at work. He keeps surprising us in the most unexpected ways. In no way am I suggesting that the Holy Spirit’s manifestations are less evident in urban
groups. In fact, in some of the Jesus Youth groups in developed countries, I have seen
young people work twelve hours every day and then drive ten hours to come together for
team meetings - only to get back to work again. Where does such power come from
other than from the Holy Spirit? In each situation and each culture the Holy Spirit
manifests himself in different ways - always unexpected, always surprising. Each time I hear about a new initiative or idea at work, I am amazed by the creativity of
the Holy Spirit. Yet the next time around I hear something even more amazing and
totally unexpected. Every time I travel, every time I meet new groups, every time I hear
testimonies of young people, this one fact never fails to strike me - you never know
what the Holy Spirit will come up with next! So what is the Holy Spirit telling us through His constant surprises? Firstly, I believe He is calling us to be aware of the powerful move that is happening
around the world. And this move is something that I have experienced personally and
felt deep in my heart. He is exhorting us to keep our eyes constantly open to the
matters of the Spirit in this physical world. Especially in today’s fast paced world
where we continually face the danger of being distracted from the eternal truths by our
busy schedules and seemingly important meetings. Secondly, He could be asking us to break down the limitations that we create within
ourselves and in our groups. Often we build frameworks and set limits to the Holy
Spirit. Perhaps we prefer the Holy Spirit to work within our comfort zones and
conveniences so that we stay in control. Yet a glance at the scriptures and history
shows us that nothing has ever stopped the surge of the Holy Spirit. Especially at this juncture when the movement is putting out into the deep, let us
pray for the grace to be perfectly sensitive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit in our
daily lives - whether it be surprising ideas, projects, insights, visions or revelations.
Let us also remember that putting out into the deep is all about setting out into the
unknown, trusting in the Holy Spirit, risking what we have. Isn’t it beautiful that the call within the World Youth Day pilgrimage is also the same?
A call to ‘receive the power’ of the Holy Spirit and carry it back into our lives?
Moreover, as we Jesus Youth prepare ourselves for a recommitment of our lives on
Pentecost Day let us pray for the courage to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit,
however unexpected or surprising they may be. “ Holy Spirit…Bless me with all your gifts, fruits and charisms so that I may grow
steadily in holiness and effectively live out my missionary call.” (From the Official
Jesus Youth Recommitment Prayer, 2008) Wishing you many more surprises of the Holy Spirit, Manoj Sunny
Jesus Youth International Co-ordinator
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