INESSA'S JOURNAL

Today while I was spending time with my Heavenly Father, I was reading Luke 11. I came across the familiar verses where Jesus says, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” I’ve read these verses many times before, but this time one verse stopped me. Jesus said, “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.” At that moment, the Holy Spirit began speaking to me. He said, “Pay attention to what Jesus said.” Jesus didn’t say the Father would give us wealth, success, influence, or everything we ask for. He said the Father would give us the Holy Spirit.

As I sat with that verse, the Holy Spirit began revealing something even more beautiful to me. What if we’ve been asking for the wrong thing? Many of us spend our prayers asking God for blessings. We ask Him for finances, opportunities, open doors, healing, relationships, or answers. There is nothing wrong with bringing our needs before God because Jesus taught us to do that. But what if our greatest prayer became, “Father, fill me with Your Holy Spirit.” Because if we have the Holy Spirit, we have the One who knows everything we need. He is our wisdom, He is our Counselor, He is our Teacher, He is our Comforter, He is our Guide, He knows which doors to open and which ones to keep closed, He knows when to move and when to wait. He knows what tomorrow holds before tomorrow even arrives.

As I was sitting in His presence, the Holy Spirit reminded me of something He had been teaching me yesterday about wisdom. He gave me analogy, He said imagine you’ve been praying for God to bless you with $100,000. One day He gives it to you, but if your heart hasn’t been prepared to steward that blessing, without wisdom that money could disappear just as quickly as it came. Before long, you’d be asking God for another $100,000, and the cycle would continue. That’s when I realized something. God has no problem providing because He owns everything. The question isn’t whether He can bless us, the question is whether we’ve become the kind of people who can steward what we’re asking Him for. Then everything started connecting. The greatest blessing isn’t the money, the greatest blessing is the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit gives us God’s wisdom. With His wisdom you’ll know how to steward finances. With His wisdom you’ll know how to raise your children. With His wisdom you’ll know when to speak and when to remain silent. With His wisdom you’ll recognize opportunities that others overlook. With His wisdom you’ll avoid decisions that could cost you years.

It’s like asking someone for fruit while ignoring the tree. If you have the tree, fruit will continue to grow season after season. The Holy Spirit is that tree, everything else is the fruit, or imagine walking through a dark forest. You could ask someone to carry you the whole way, or you could receive a light that shows you every step. The Holy Spirit is that light, He doesn’t always show us the entire journey, but He faithfully leads us one step at a time. That’s why Jesus pointed us to the greatest gift the Father could ever give, not something from His hand, but His presence.

Then the Holy Spirit led me to Proverbs 13:22: “A good person leaves an inheritance to their children’s children, but the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.” I realized this verse isn’t only about money. It’s about stewardship. A righteous person knows how to preserve, multiply, and pass on what God has entrusted to them. That requires wisdom. Then He led me to 1 Corinthians 12, where Paul lists the gifts of the Spirit. The very first gift mentioned is the word of wisdom. That isn’t a coincidence. Before we ask God for more resources, maybe we should ask for more of His Spirit. Because where the Holy Spirit is welcomed, wisdom follows, where wisdom is present, right decisions follow, where right decisions are made consistently, faithful stewardship follows and where faithful stewardship exists, God can entrust more. I’ve also learned that wisdom is often formed in hardship. God isn’t trying to harm us, He’s preparing us. Every closed door teaches dependence, every delay develops patience, every act of obedience expands our capacity. Nothing is wasted in His hands.

So today, my prayer has become much simpler. Father, I don’t want to chase blessings more than I chase You. Give me Your Holy Spirit, teach me to hear Your voice, fill me with Your wisdom, shape my character, help me steward well whatever You place in my hands, because I’ve realized the greatest blessing You can ever give me isn’t money, influence, or success. The greatest blessing is Your Holy Spirit. When you have Him, you have the One who will lead you into everything God has prepared for your life.