Much of the unfinished business in human lives might well be attributed to a loss of spirit. Whatever would dampen a man's enthusiasm for good or cause him to dampen another's is godlessness, an age-old enemy of progress. This negative influence would obstruct a right desire with arguments of delay, discouragement, or even distrust of one's own ability. If accepted as real and powerful, this influence would cause one to forsake his highest goals and thus, in effect, be unable to see God's plan in operation in his experience.
But it is never too late to resurrect a right ambition, nurture a hope for reform, desire purposeful living. We are encouraged to this end by the words of the Apostle Paul. His counsel "Quench not the Spirit"I Thess. 5:19; may be seen as an immediate challenge to disengage ourselves from apathy and begin right where we are to exert our God-given capacities for being and doing. When we agree to act on this premise, even the most aggressive barriers to progress, such as timidity, lack, fear, pride, sensualism, and so on begin to disappear, and the way is opened to demonstrate our true status as the offspring of God, endowed by Spirit.
The Scriptures are permeated with accounts of newness of life resulting from putting into action a desire for betterment. For example, what appeared to be a fixed pattern of self-debasement in the life of a harlot of biblical times was apparently changed through spiritual effort. Perhaps a growing restlessness with a sinful definition of herself brought her to Christ Jesus. And the effect of the healing Christ upon her was that meekness, penitence, and reform wiped out the burden of past sins and opened a new life to her. Marvelous transformation of human character occurs wherever the impulse of a spiritual desire is given precedence over the downward pull of sensualism, wherever Paul's admonition "Quench not the Spirit" is put into action.
