Share & Support

Reaching out strengthens your journey. Connect with others participating in the fast and offer mutual encouragement.

Community Ideas

• Start a group chat to share daily reflections.

• Attend a virtual meet-up or a prayer group.

Community provides support, accountability, and new insights.

The Body Shop

“When he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” John 16:8

Many of us drive around in used vehicles that often need tune-ups or realignment to keep everything running smoothly. You don’t have to be a mechanic to see that something is wrong with the vehicle if your tires are facing two different ways—clear signs of misalignment.

Many of us drive around in physical bodies that look like the alignment on these cars.

Many of our lives look like these tires, but tell everyone else that we are brand-new creations in Christ. We are all set and don't need any help and definitely not any advice.

Many of us walk around with similar “issues” in our lives and say we’re “all set.” When the Holy Spirit speaks to us, He often does so through our bodies or emotions. This is not to make us feel bad—it’s like a dashboard warning light or a sensor that tells us it’s time to enter the Body Shop for an alignment with Jesus.

Why Emotions?

Often, when we step out of God’s will, we feel uneasy—like something is wrong. God speaks not only through uneasiness but also through peace. Learning to discern between what the Lord allows us to feel and our own human emotions takes time and development. We cannot rely on emotions alone, assuming every feeling is the Lord speaking.

I have counseled many people who live like this—their spiritual life resembles a Ferris wheel: they start at the bottom when things are bad, ride up to an emotional or spiritual high, then crash back down, only to repeat the cycle. I’m not referring to that kind of life.

The emotional ways the Holy Spirit speaks to and through us include peace, pain, compassion, and other visceral feelings.

Here is a depiction of Jesus moved with compassion for the crowds, seeing them as harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd (Matthew 9:36):

Often, when I feel compassion for someone, the Lord wants me to pray for them. I don’t naturally feel compassion due to my own life circumstances, but when the Holy Spirit’s presence is upon me, I do. Jesus was “moved with compassion,” not by His own emotions but by the Spirit of God working through them.

Emotional pain can also indicate a prophetic prayer point. When Jesus came to Lazarus, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). The Jews saw how much He loved him. Then, deeply moved, He went to raise Lazarus from the dead (John 11:38).

Here are artistic representations of Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus:

When we see someone on the street or in church and feel deep pain for them, the Holy Spirit is speaking. Don’t grab the fire hose and quench that fire. Let the Spirit burn in you—then go pray for that person.

God also moves us with supernatural peace when there is no natural reason for it.

Here are symbolic images of calm peace amid chaos, representing the Holy Spirit’s presence:

In 2004, around 3 a.m. in Baghdad, Iraq, I sat on my truck preparing to raid Saddam’s family houses. Intelligence reported 30 enemies armed with rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns. We were going in with just eight soldiers—my friend and I first through the door.

As we waited for the green light, my friend looked at me and said, “Jeff, I’m super scared. We’re going to die in a couple of hours.” I looked back with the peace of God upon me and replied, “That’s totally out of your control. No need to worry. We just need to do our job.” He asked how I could be so calm. The Holy Spirit gave me a prophetic word in that moment—to speak life and peace over the situation.

When the Spirit speaks through our emotions, the message is often not just for us. God gives us His eyes to see as a spiritual mechanic. The Holy Spirit enlightens our hearts to see as He sees. If we stay in alignment with Him, we can help guide others into the Holy Spirit’s Body Shop for realignment with His presence.

Spend some time before you answer the questions below and hear from the Holy Spirit.

Meditation Questions

1. Holy Spirit, show me times in my life where I have felt compassion for others.

2. Holy Spirit, show me where I need to go to the "body shop."

3. Holy Spirit, please show me times when I have felt pain for others.

4. Lord, if I am not currently pouring my life out for others, show me how to do so in my current situation.

5. Lord, we want what You want and not our own will. Speak to us, Jesus.

Meditative Passages

• John 11:35

• Matthew 9:36

Are we in alignment with the Holy Spirit to accurately hear Him? Do we truly discern when He is speaking through our emotions and body? If not, let’s spend time with Him tonight and ask Him to tune us according to His ears, not our own.