Vital Signs: Sunday, July 12, 2026

Coffee with the Holy Spirit

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” — Matthew 11:28–29 (ESV)

I’ve been thinking lately about a phrase I keep hearing: “Listen to your body.” This idea had seemed a little odd to me, until now. A close girlfriend and I both had to bow out of our usual coffee/Bible study date, and we were both bummed to do so. We were exhausted from the work of super busy (and wonderful) prior days, and we both just needed to “be” at home. Then our texts took a deep dive.

Our bodies are God’s temple, and the Holy Spirit is in our midst. We have been rightly taught that to fall into harmful addictions that hurt our bodies is to harm the temple of God. Our fallen and broken hearts are Jesus’ dwelling place. 1 Corinthians 3:16 tells us so: “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?”

Then came wisdom, thanks to the Holy Spirit. If Christ lives in our hearts, and the Holy Spirit teaches us all things and is in our midst, and our bodies are temples of God, wouldn’t the Holy Spirit let us know when it's time to take a rest? Absolutely He would! Wouldn’t the Holy Spirit remind us why we serve and whom we serve? Yes, He would, and sometimes that stings a little. Would Jesus, who called Himself gentle and lowly of heart, ask us to do something that was physically impossible for us to do? No way. That would be cruel.

Can I put demands on myself to impress people? Yes, and I do it all the time. Do people who love me really care if there is dog hair on the floor and dust on the mantle? No, and the truth is, they’re probably used to it by now. Do I fly in God’s face, expending energy on stuff that doesn’t matter while things He has called me to do are left undone? Absolutely. Will He forgive me? Let me start again? Yes. Every time.

I concluded in my ADHD literal mind that maybe I don’t understand how to listen to my body, but I sure know how to listen to the Holy Spirit, and He knows God, and teaches me many things about God and myself. He even reminds me of lessons I have learned and forgotten, then learned and forgot again. He knows exactly when my body is tired, or when my heart needs to just rest.

And you know what? He tells me. He’s quiet, so I have to be quiet to hear Him. Then, after I hear Him talking to me, I know what to do, and I know what not to do.

Working for the approval of humans is pointless. Living and working and resting in obedience to God’s call (God’s call alone) on our lives gives us rich and joy-filled lives. Carrying our own unique crosses ushers in blessings and God’s approval, and those gifts are life-giving and life-sustaining, even on hard days. I just need to remember that. When lessons are forgotten and the relentless checklist becomes the boss, the Holy Spirit is right there, ready to help me out if I’ll just listen.

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said.” — John 14:26 (ESV)

(Deborah Smith)

Team Wade loves you and is praying for you 👊❤️