Grieve the Holy Spirit

There are two major references in the bible to grieving the Holy Spirit. The first is in reference to the Israelites turning their back on God; “…they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit” (Isaiah 63:10). The second is in a letter from Paul to the church in Ephesus where he writes, “do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Ephesians 4:30). This section is talking about how to live as a Christian. Paul continues with, “Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice” (Ephesians 4:31). These are worldly emotions and actions which are contrary to how we should live in Christ.

The definition of grieve is “to cause to be sorrowful” (American Heritage Dictionary). To grieve the Holy Spirit then is to become sorrowful because of the Holy Spirit. It is because there is a longing for sinful pleasure and the Holy Spirit is convicting you of that sin which you must let go of. Because of this you become sorrowful. This was the case for the Israelites as well. They simply would not settle for the love of God and instead harbored bitterness, rage and anger and sought slander along with malice on those who persecuted them. Do not cherish sin in your heart (Psalms 66) for it causes grief of the Holy Spirit who strengthens you. Rather give your sin and your struggles to Jesus Christ and seek joy in place of bitterness and good works in place of malice.