Connection is vital for our health and wellbeing. In a world where social media provides endless opportunities to connect, many people still feel lonely. God created us for connection – first with Him and then with each other.
In the attached transcript, Susan Bruce discusses how connection helps regulate our emotions and improves mental health. She gives an example from her own life, when she and her husband adopted four children. The children struggled to connect and would have extreme emotional reactions to small problems. After trying many methods, Bruce found that simply giving them a hug and human connection helped calm the children down. She relates this to our connection with God through the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit connects us to power, purpose and people, Bruce explains. The power is the truth – that we are adopted as God’s children and connected to Him. Our identity comes from our Heavenly Father. The Holy Spirit gives us purpose as witnesses for God and helps us use our spiritual gifts to serve others. He connects us to each other in the body of Christ. Bruce recounts the story from Acts 2 of the Holy Spirit descending on the disciples with tongues of flame. This immersion in the Spirit gave them power to speak and effectively witness to the crowds, leading to thousands accepting Christ.
Bruce emphasizes that this power of the Holy Spirit is still available to believers today. We must make room for Him by breaking bonds with anything distracting us from that connection. When our lives are filled with God’s presence through the Holy Spirit, we are able to connect with others and make an impact for the Kingdom.
