Have you ever paused to consider the joy of giving? The way it feels when you’ve planned a perfect surprise for someone you love—the thoughtfulness of the gesture, the anticipation as you wait for them to receive it, the thrill of watching their eyes light up, and their face erupt in joy as they realize what you’ve given them? It’s one of the deepest delights of being human, isn’t it? To give is to share in something transcendent.
Now, take that feeling and magnify it—stretch it beyond the limits of comprehension, wrap it in an eternal and holy love, and imagine that this is just a glimmer of what it is like for the Holy Spirit to give you gifts.
The Holy Spirit is not a distant, impersonal force. He is not a cosmic wind that simply sweeps through your life. No, He is a Person—the third Person of the Trinity—alive, present, and deeply involved in your story. He has thoughts, feelings, intentions, and desires. And He delights in giving. He delights in surprising you with gifts beyond what you could ask or imagine. Not because He has to, but because He wants to. Because to see your joy, to watch you unwrap what He has carefully chosen for you, brings Him a joy we can scarcely begin to fathom.
Think about it. The Holy Spirit knows you intimately—better than you know yourself. He knows what makes your heart come alive, the dreams you’ve tucked away, the prayers you’ve whispered when no one else was listening. He knows what you need before you do, and He knows how to bring it to you in ways you could never anticipate. Like the perfect Giver He is, He loves to surprise you.
We often think about the gifts of the Holy Spirit in functional terms—prophecy, healing, discernment, wisdom, speaking in tongues, and so on. And these gifts are extraordinary. They are divine expressions of God’s power, poured into broken vessels like us to advance His Kingdom and bring glory to His name. But do you realize that the Holy Spirit’s gifts extend beyond the obvious? They are not always delivered in bold strokes or public displays of power. Sometimes, they are quiet, hidden, and personal. Sometimes, they are surprises that arrive not with a trumpet blast but with a whisper.
He gives you comfort when sorrow threatens to consume you—a gift so tender it feels like being wrapped in arms you cannot see. He gives you clarity when confusion clouds your way, a sudden knowing that cuts through the noise and makes the next step clear. He gives you peace in the middle of chaos, like a still river running through the center of a storm. He gives you laughter when life has felt far too heavy, an unexpected joy that bubbles up from deep within you. He gives you courage when fear tries to hold you captive—a strength that is not your own, pushing you forward when everything in you wants to turn back.
These are gifts, too. Gifts chosen for you. Gifts that the Holy Spirit gives with the same anticipation and delight as the most loving Father on earth—but infinitely more so.
Can you picture it? The Holy Spirit is watching you with eager expectation, waiting for you to notice what He’s placed before you. There’s a gift in your hands, and He can’t wait for you to open it. He knows how much it will bless you, how deeply it will meet your need, how perfectly it will resonate with your heart. And when you receive it—when you allow yourself to accept and embrace what He’s given—the joy is not yours alone. His joy is magnified.
We sometimes forget that God feels. He rejoices. He delights. “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in His love He will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17, NIV). If God the Father delights in you, and Jesus, your Savior, gave Himself for you, then is it any wonder that the Holy Spirit—God’s very presence within you—also takes joy in giving you the desires of your heart?
But here’s the catch: the Holy Spirit’s gifts are often unexpected. They rarely look the way we imagined they would. He surprises us because He knows us better than we know ourselves. His gifts sometimes come wrapped in lessons we didn’t want to learn, in moments of surrender we tried to avoid. Sometimes His gifts come disguised as hard things—seasons that stretch us, refine us, and force us to depend on Him in ways we never have before. And yet, when we open our eyes to see what He has done, we realize they were gifts all along.
So let Him surprise you. Lay down your expectations, your assumptions, and your preconceived notions of how God “should” work in your life. Make room for the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do. Be open to the gifts He wants to give—the ones you asked for and the ones you didn’t know you needed.
Let Him give you the gift of a softened heart, one that responds quickly to His whispers. Let Him give you the gift of faith when your circumstances scream for doubt. Let Him give you the gift of revelation, of seeing His hand at work in places you thought He had forgotten. Let Him give you the gift of joy—not circumstantial happiness, but the deep, unshakable joy that wells up from knowing you are loved, held, and provided for.
And when the gifts come—whether quietly or with great fanfare—receive them. Open them. Rejoice in them. Let the Holy Spirit’s joy become your own, for there is no greater delight than the shared joy between the Giver and the one who receives.
The Holy Spirit is not done surprising you. He is not done giving. Even now, He waits with a gift in His hands, chosen just for you. Will you let Him surprise you? Will you let Him delight in your delight?
“If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” (Luke 11:13, NIV).
Ask. Open. Receive.
And let the joy of the Holy Spirit wash over you, like a wave of love that never runs dry.
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