Conviction: Gnat or Fire Ant?

By Joanna K. Harris
Joanna Harris is an author and blogger with a tremendous passion for God.  You can contact Joanna here.  For more on Joanna and her ministry, check out her website here.  There you can also find links to her other blogs.

www.newlineministries.com

Have you ever been bitten by a gnat?  It's an annoying inconvenience for your body, but it quickly fades away. But have you ever experienced the bite of a fire ant? It’s not something to take lightly. 

In the spiritual realm, sometimes we treat God's conviction of sin in our lives like it's a gnat, ignoring it or swatting it away. Perhaps we need to think of conviction as a fire ant instead and pay attention.

Webster defines conviction as "the act of convincing a person of error or of compelling the admission of a truth." Spiritual conviction comes from God. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit "will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment" (John 16:8). When we sin, the Holy Spirit is faithful to convict our hearts. He shows us we’ve done something wrong and prompts us to repent of that sin. 

Often, conviction comes as a quiet inner voice telling us we've messed up. Sometimes it's a direct rebuke from a friend. Other times, it's a specific verse that reminds us of truth we have forgotten or ignored. Spiritual conviction is a lot like Jimminy Cricket, Pinochio's little "conscience."

As sinful human beings, without conviction we would persist in our sin and wander further and further away from God. We need to be confronted with the error of our own actions in light of God's truth. 

The purpose of conviction is not to make us feel guilty, however. Guilt makes us want to hide or run from God. Guilt comes from our enemy, the accuser of the brethren—not from God. Conviction is the necessary wake-up call about our sin, but always with the intent of bringing us back to sweet fellowship with our Savior.

Contrary to our natural thinking, conviction is a blessing, not a burden. Romans 2:4 tells us it is God's kindness that leads us to repentance. His conviction is a sweet mercy to keep us from pursuing our own stubborn, willful and self-deceived ways. The reason God convicts us is so we can repent and resume walking in step with Him. God desires to commune with us every moment.

Through His death on the cross, Jesus provided forgiveness for our sins, not only in the past, but also in the present and the future (Col. 2:13). Hallelujah! When we experience the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we can acknowledge our sin to God, thank Him for His forgiveness and rely once again on His Spirit to empower us to choose obedience. We are not slaves to sin anymore—Christ has set us free! 

God is faithful to convict us of our sin, but we aren't always ready to repent. Sometimes conviction is a lot like the gnat bite, annoying but not necessarily painful. Often we respond with a quick "ouch" and then promptly forget about it. After a while we can desensitize ourselves and not even notice when the Holy Spirit speaks to our hearts. Sometimes God has to use a "fire ant" form of conviction to get our attention. I can testify that this method is at times painful, but it’s definitely for our good.

As we learn to pay attention to the little pricks of conviction, the Holy Spirit can lead us to quiet places to listen and study God's Word. This is where the deep conviction takes place, where God often reveals our hidden or willful sins. Through this process of conviction, repentance and desiring to obey, God accomplishes His ongoing work of inner transformation.

God’s desire is to keep us walking with Him in truth –not fooling ourselves that we're walking with Him while we allow certain areas of our lives to remain in darkness. Paying attention to the little "bites" of conviction trains us to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit and to make abiding in Christ our deepest desire and daily habit.

Learning to listen to the gentle pricks of the Holy Spirit and avoid the pain of a fire ant’s bite is an ongoing process. Obviously, we can't change ourselves. But we can ask God to change us little by little, moment by moment. After all, it is "God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Phil. 2:13). I’m so glad He does!

Lord, give us ears to hear your conviction and hearts that long to obey you in everything, especially the "little" things. Keep us from rationalizing that something isn't sin because others do it. Teach us to welcome your conviction about any areas of darkness that attempt to invade our lives and gain a foothold. Make us joyfully submissive to your Son, so that through us you can demonstrate your goodness and bless many. May our hearts be open to your conviction today, and may we continually rejoice in your eternal forgiveness, transforming grace and empowering love! Amen.

www.newlineministries.com