In this episode, Catherine reflects on 1 Corinthians 3:16 and the incredible truth that the Holy Spirit dwells within every believer. She shares honestly about her own struggle with self-control and how she realized she had been relying on her own willpower instead of inviting the Holy Spirit into that battle. Through Scripture and personal testimony, she reminds listeners that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives within us and gives us the strength to overcome temptation, face life's challenges, and walk in God's purpose. Whatever you're struggling with today, you don't have to face it alone—the Holy Spirit is already with you, waiting to help. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
You Already Have the Power
1 Corinthians 3:16 “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?
This is a question I think often when I am talking to people. Whenever I talk to someone who doubts their abilities or their capabilities, I want to ask them this question. I want to ask most people this question as I think a lot of us don’t know this. I have heard people talk a lot about our body being a temple when they talk bout how we take care of our body. I have heard people mention “our body is a temple” when they are wanting you to do their workout program, or their nutrition program. I have also heard people talk about how our body is a temple when they are talking about sexual sin or trying to convince you not to use your body in a negative way.
I do think it is important to think of your body as a temple, not just any temple, but God’s temple. Knowing I am God’s temple is quite a responsibility. Currently, I am not acting as if I know my body is a temple. Right now I am acting as if my body is a waste station and I am throwing all the junk I can find into it. I seem to be struggling with self-control when it comes to eating and exercising these days. This is somewhat new to me, as I have done really well over the past several years to gain lots of self-control when it comes to eating and exercising. I know I don’t need to base my eating and my working out on my feelings. I know if I get into a good routine, I can work out even when I don’t want to. I know I don’t have to eat the ice cream just because I want to.
Even though I know these things, I am still struggling. Have you ever had this happen to you? You know what you need to do, and you still can’t seem to do it? I think this happens to all of us. Right now, for me, I think it is the enemy making my desires stronger than my willpower. I believe God is calling me to so much more in life, and the enemy doesn’t want me to hear this call. He doesn’t want me to live up to my purpose, so he is distracting me with social media and other things on the computer. He is tempting me with all sorts of food that is not all that healthy, and he is loving every single time I give in to his distractions. He has me saying things like, “I just can’t resist, or I can’t overcome my desires to not work out.” The devil is a liar.
I can resist. It is not easy, but it is possible. We have the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us. I don’t think we realize how much power we have living inside of us. Romans 8:11 is a very powerful scripture to write down and read often. It is a great scripture to remind yourself of every time you feel like you can’t do something. Romans 8:11 says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you.” The Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead. Remember when Jesus died on the cross for our sins and then three days later rose again? The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. That same Holy Spirit is now living in you and me; that’s remarkable to me.
I forget this often. I often rely on my own willpower, my own mind, thoughts, talents, abilities, and so on. I know God is always there to help me, but I forget the Holy Spirit lives inside of me. I forget how powerful the Holy Spirit is. Well, actually, I don’t forget how powerful he is, but I do forget that power is living inside of me. When I pray for people, I pray the Lord sends the Holy Spirit down to be in the situation I am praying for. I forget the Holy Spirit doesn’t need to come down to be in the situation because He lives here on earth in each one of us. He is right here inside of us to give us the power we need. All we need to do is call upon that power.
Are we doing that? Are we remembering to call upon the power of the Holy Spirit? I know I’m not. I have been complaining a lot about my lack of willpower. I have not been running like I want to, and I have been gaining weight because I am not really being careful about what I eat. I get frustrated, and I wonder why I was so good before, and now I am not. I was talking with a friend the other day, and she helped me figure it out. When I first moved to MA, home life was pretty out of control. I was struggling big time with behaviors from my kids, with just having moved to a new community where I didn’t know anyone, trying to work when I kept getting called by the schools, struggling with my marriage. Everything seemed pretty out of control. I think I was so good about exercising and watching what I ate because it was the one thing I felt I had control over. I couldn’t control a lot in my life at that time, but I could control what I ate and when I worked out.
I think I was also better at remembering to call on the Holy Spirit because I needed his power daily, hourly, sometimes minute by minute. People who knew me when I was going through the worst of it would comment how strong I was. I was quick to tell them, it’s not me, it’s God. He is the one holding me up right now. The Holy Spirit was my go-to because it was obvious I was out of my depth. The things that were going on in my life were so far out of my control. I am grateful I had God to lean on and I am beyond grateful He gave us the Holy Spirit. They say a mother’s love is so strong you can do anything you need to do to protect your kids. I don’t disagree that a mother’s love is strong, and also I don’t think it is her love alone. I think it is our desperate need to protect our children that gives us the courage to call out to the Holy Spirit. The strength comes from Him.
I am grateful things have calmed down now. I am grateful God answered my years of prayers. I am grateful he provided our family with a miraculous restoration. I love my life, and I am so grateful to God for loving me enough to answer my prayers. I also want to make sure I am not taking these answered prayers for granted. I think my perceived lack of willpower right now is because I am forgetting to call upon the Holy Spirit. I am thinking I need to do it all on my own, and I don’t. I am trying to will myself into doing the things I want, and I am forgetting to reach out and ask for help. I have reached out to friends and asked for accountability partners. I have reached out and asked people to call and check in with me, ask me if I have done it. I have asked God to help me, but I am not sure I have invited the Holy Spirit into this struggle. I have been keeping the struggle separate from God. Telling myself things like, “God doesn’t care if I eat this cookie.” God may not care if I eat that cookie; however, he does care if I feel bad about eating that cookie. He does care if I am mindlessly giving in to temptations. He does care about all the little things, and He does want to be invited into all the parts of our lives, especially the ones we are struggling with.
I am grateful I read this scripture verse today. I am grateful God showed me this small yet powerful reminder this morning. Today I am going to invite the Holy Spirit into my struggle. Today I am going to write this verse on a sticky note and place it up somewhere I will see it often. Today I invite you to do the same. Invite the Holy Spirit into whatever you are struggling with the most. Actually invite the Holy Spirit into all aspects of your life, the good and the bad. Who couldn’t use more power in their life? Wouldn’t you like the good to be even better and the bad to get better? The Holy Spirit has incredible power to make things better in your life. I am living proof of that. Our family went from an angry and somewhat violent family to a loving and calm family. Things are not perfect, and I am not sure they will ever be as we live in a broken world. However, they are so good, and I am so grateful. Whatever you are struggling with, please believe me when I say the Holy Spirit has the power to change it. Remember Romans 8:11: The power of the Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you. What could be more powerful?
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Holy Spirit, we invite you into our lives and give you permission to intercede as you wish. We give you free rein, as we know your ways are higher than our ways. We are sorry we keep relying on our own power, and we will try to remember to call upon your power. We are so grateful for all you do for us. Lord, we are so grateful you sent the Holy Spirit to come live within and to guide us. Please help us remember to call upon the Holy Spirit more in our lives. Help us to remember we don’t have to do anything on our own; He is always with us. He is just waiting for us to ask. Lord, help us to remember our bodies are a temple and the Holy Spirit is living inside that temple. Help us to treat our bodies like a temple. Lord, you are so amazing. You are my joy, you are my life, you are Emmanuel, God with us. We love you, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I thought the Holy Spirit would be a great topic for Today’s Devotional because the theme for mentoring this month is Loved and Led by the Holy Spirit. The last two months we looked at the love of the Father and the love of the Son. Now we look at the love of the Holy Spirit. CLICK HERE if you want to learn more about mentoring or if you want to join our community to learn more about the power and love you have living inside of you! I look forward to spending time with you again tomorrow. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in February 2026 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “My children, let my goodness flow and overflow in you. Let it spread to all those you meet. I am the Lord of goodness. I am the Lord of kindness. Open your hearts more fully to me so that you can know how to share it with those you meet.”