Things that Grieve the Holy Spirit

Micaiah Ministries will be at Living Waters Fellowship Friday @ 7p.m. and Sunday @ 11:15 a.m and 7p.m.

I've been thinking about what causes the Holy Spirit to be grieved....which means to have sorrow or to be distressed. Pastor John's message Got Mud: Take the Presence of God with You speaks of desiring to seek God's presence for your life. That is certainly the will of God for his people. What are things that would hinder that from happening in our lives?

Here are some things that grieve the Holy Spirit.


Not Believing and trusting Him. (Psalms 95:9-11, Psalm 78:39-41, Isaiah 63:9-11, 1 Corinthians 10:1-5, the book of Exodus)

This one is a hard one. All of these verses say the Holy Spirit was grieved. When I read the book of Exodus I ask myself if I would be any different than the children of Israel . What would I do if an army was closing in on me, if the food supply was non-existent, or I was dealing with a parched throat because of lack of water? Would I be among those who saw the miracles of God and doubted God when each new crisis arose? Reading Exodus lets us know that God's heart was always to provide....He longed for His people to trust Him and to believe that provision was His will. He wanted them to seek Him not run turn tail. I don't have to go far to see what I would do. All I have to do is examine my reactions to my own circumstances. Do I remember the works of the Lord in my life and others or do I panic at every turn. Don't get me wrong...I know sometimes things happen that can rattle us....but what do we do when that occurs? Do I run to God or do I run from Him. God wants us to seek Him and to trust Him remembering His mighty hand. The Psalm 78 passage says , "again and again they tempted God and limited the Holy One of Israel." Imagine that, when we don't believe God can help us we are putting limits on God. The Holy Spirit is blessed when we trust even in hard situations, when we don't give up on our faith in the face of difficulty, when we seek Him even when our emotions are in an uproar...when He is our solution not our complaint.


Not knowing His Ways ( Psalm 95: 9-11)

God said that generation did not know His ways. That is a sad commentary. Every Father wants his children to know him...to trust his love for them and to understand and pass on the integrity they learned from him to their children. God was basically saying...this generation just didn't get it. They didn't know Him...they knew of him but didn't grasp His heart. It is not that they didn't have opportunity. The Word says in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4 that everyone in the wilderness had the same opportunity to see God's mighty hand and let faith rise in their heart. Most of that generation ended up dying in the wilderness leaving their offspring to see the fulfillment of God's promise by faith. God said, "they didn't know my ways".

God talks a lot about the Moses generation...they are called examples to us. They are examples of how not to act and how not to relate to God. There were some fine exceptions Caleb and Joshua. God is desiring us to know His heart, to know his ways, and to know Him.

Rebelling and turning from Him (Isaiah 63:8-11)

In this passage God shares His heart. His love for Israel...His heart for them as His people. When they were in distress He was distressed for them and had a solution. Verse 10 tells us they rebelled against the God who had shared his tender mercies and it grieved His Holy Spirit. A read of the entire chapter shows a spirit of repentance which God accepts. Yet here we see that God has experienced the sting of being rejected by His people. Just as parents or grandparents desire good for their loved ones God loves and desires our good. He invest His love in us and it hurts His heart when someone walks away or rejects His loving correction.

Corrupt Speech, Anger, Strife....unkindness (Ephesians 4:29-32)
In between exhortations to not allow corrupt speech, anger and strife in your life and another passage stating that we need to be kind and tender hearted and forgiving...are the words , "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption" The way we use our mouth and the way we treat other people matters to God. Is it not incidental that these areas are found together because often our mouth gets us into trouble with other people and causes hurt and divison. Some folks think that it is just "them and God"....but this passage lets us know our mouth and our relationships with others matter to Him. They matter so much that when we mess them up we can actually grieve the Holy Spirit. Thank God for His mercy in these areas. He is faithful to help us overcome habits that hurt others and can wreck havic upon our life. He is willing to take Spiritual soap to our tongue and help us to have right attitudes. Our treatment of others matters.