DIVINE
COMMUNION - Part 4
Holy Spirit faithful guide
By
David Woodbury
Arthur Gullidge closes his selection
out with a firm statement of the assurance of guidance while we are in
communion with God. More than anything else the Christian needs guidance, both
in their spiritual pilgrimage and in their relationship with his God. Most of
us have lived long enough to know how susceptible to human thoughts and
inclinations we are and know that only too well our own prejudice and bias all
too often cloud our pilgrimage.
What we need to keep uppermost in our minds is that in seeking God’s
will in our lives we are not alone or without assistance. Jesus said he would
send a Helper to assist us in living the way God wants us to. When
the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak
on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the
future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever
he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is
mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from
me.’ (John 16:13-15 –
NLT)
The Holy Spirit helps in our weaknesses (Romans 8:26) to tap into the will of
God and at times makes intercession for us when we do not know what we need to
pray about or lack the words necessary to communicate with our Heavenly Father,
and such intercession is always according
to the will of God.
One
of the great secrets of Christianity is an ability, under the guidance of the
Holy Spirit, to find and know contentment. The Apostle Paul had learnt, perhaps
the hard way, to find that secret for himself. In 1 Timothy 6:5-8 he ties
contentment to godliness, and perhaps here is the first clue to finding real
contentment in life. Godliness is defined as: An attitude and style of
life that acknowledges God’s claims on human life and seeks to live in
accordance with God’s will.
(Holman Bible Dictionary) Consequently, we can deduce that finding contentment
is directly related to a lifestyle that is lived in accordance with the will of
God. We can note here that there is something very basic about this lifestyle; having food and clothing, with these we
shall be content. Perhaps Paul
realised that the uncomplicated lifestyle was the quickest way to contentment.
One of the keys Paul
discovered was a mindset of thanksgiving. (1 Thessalonians 5:12-18). The life guided by the Holy Spirit is a
life lived in genuine thankfulness. Paul’s core attitude was a volitional and
central part of his being, it was a positive attitude of always being thankful.
I suspect that very few of us are just born that way, but rather we can choose
to embrace such a core attitude, that of being thankful, rather than that of
being constantly discontented. The truth is it is far easier to be discontented,
for that focuses on our self than it is to be thankful, for that moves the
focus outside our self.
The spiritual impact
Divine
Communion was published,
although Arthur Gullidge was never to hear in played in a Salvation Army meeting
or to see a printed manuscript, However, it went on to become one of the
greatest pieces of music in the history of Salvation Army brass band music. Its
sense of intimacy with God permeates the music, perhaps an intimacy that could
only be inspired by the spectre of eternity that hung over Arthur Gullidge on
the New Guinea battlefield.
Over the years many
Salvation Army congregations have been drawn intrinsically to the throne of God
by the simple yet powerful message of self-surrender,
closeness to God and the assurance of eternal guidance. The
composition has recently been re-edited for smaller combinations and recorded
afresh by the International Staff Band.
 |
| Montevideo Maru |
Perhaps
it is in the way of God that in the crucible of war and suffering God wrings
from a man’s soul the riches of his spirituality. In the years since to tragic
death of Arthur Gullidge the message of his music lives on, enriching the
spiritual lives of thousands around the world and leaving in his music precious
keys to communion with God.
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