From Sea to Sanctuary: The Everlasting Work of the Holy Spirit
- Catherine Guillaume-Sackey
- May 1
- 4 min read
By Catherine Sackey, MPAP
“The wind blew, the waters parted, and the people walked through on dry ground.”
That’s the scene in Exodus 15—the Israelites, freshly delivered from the grip of Egypt, erupt into praise. The Red Sea, once a barrier, becomes a testimony. In Psalm 18, David, having escaped death time and again, sings his own song of rescue. Fire, thunder, darkness—God moved heaven and earth to reach him.
And what moved in both moments?
The Spirit of God.
The Spirit Has Always Been
The Holy Spirit didn’t first arrive in Acts 2. Long before tongues of fire, He was the breath at creation, the wind at the Red Sea, the power behind David’s victories, the fire that filled the tabernacle.
Genesis 1:2 – “The Spirit of God hovered over the waters.”
Exodus 15:10 – “But You blew with Your breath, and the sea covered them.” (“Breath” in Hebrew = ruach, the same word for Spirit).
Psalm 18:15 – “At the blast of Your breath, the valleys of the sea were exposed.”
These weren’t just natural disasters. These were Spirit-led interventions. The same Spirit who created the cosmos stirred the waters for Moses and shattered mountains for David.
What the Spirit Did Then
Delivered
The Holy Spirit moved on behalf of God’s people. He parted seas, drowned enemies, raised up judges, empowered prophets, and filled kings.
David testifies: “He reached down from on high and took hold of me; He drew me out of deep waters” (Psalm 18:16).
Empowered
The Spirit rested on people selectively:
On Bezalel to design the tabernacle (Exodus 31:3)
On Moses and the elders (Numbers 11)
On David for kingship (1 Samuel 16:13)
They did mighty works—but the Spirit’s presence was often temporary or task-specific.
From Solomon’s Stones to Our Souls
In “Living Temples”, we explored how the materials used to build Solomon’s temple—cedar, gold, bronze, linen, and stone—weren’t just structural. They symbolized purity, permanence, holiness, and divine order. That temple, crafted during a time of peace, pointed to God’s desire to dwell among His people in beauty and order.
But today, we are those temples.
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?” (1 Corinthians 3:16)
Yet many of us still live like the wilderness generation—waiting for partings and signs—forgetting that the builder now builds from within. The Spirit doesn’t just fill stone rooms. He adorns our hearts with holy gold. He breathes into our character. He longs to make His home in us.
What the Spirit Does Now: Abundantly More
Through Christ, the veil was torn. And at Pentecost, the same Spirit who hovered over the waters and moved through history was poured out on all flesh (Joel 2:28; Acts 2:17).
We now live in a time where the Holy Spirit is not limited to prophets or kings. He lives in every believer. Not occasionally. Not conditionally. Permanently.
1. The Spirit Indwells Us
In Solomon’s day, it took artisans, kings, and a temple of unmatched beauty to house God’s presence.
Now, through Christ, our bodies are the temple—and the Spirit dwells not in bricks but in breathing vessels.
2. The Spirit Guides Us
David had to inquire with the ephod. Today, the Spirit speaks within us. He writes the law on our hearts and corrects us from the inside out.
3. The Spirit Intercedes For Us
Moses cried at the sea’s edge. Today, the Holy Spirit cries out within us with wordless groans (Romans 8:26). He prays us into purpose when we don’t have the strength to ask.
4. The Spirit Empowers Us to Be Witnesses
Just as the Spirit empowered David to slay giants, He empowers us to break spiritual strongholds and walk boldly in a world that’s desperate for light.
5. The Spirit Reveals Jesus to Us
Not only does He remind us of truth—He makes Christ real in our daily living. Through conviction, counsel, and comfort, He leads us to transformation.
But What If We Choose Rome Instead of Renewal?
In “When We Become Rome”, we wrestled with a deep spiritual tragedy: we empathize with Paul in chains, yet we often chain the Holy Spirit within ourselves. We:
Choose pride over truth
Gossip over grace
Lust over love
Fear over faith
And in doing so, we become Rome.
We grieve the Spirit. We arrest the very presence sent to free us.
Just like Rome kept holiness under house arrest, we often silence the Spirit’s convictions, dismiss His warnings, or ignore His whispers—favoring comfort over sanctification.
From Songs to Sealing: A Greater Covenant
Exodus 15 ends in celebration, but the people still wandered.
Psalm 18 rejoices in deliverance, but David still endured betrayal and war.
Today, we don’t just celebrate the moment—we carry the presence that parted the waters and felled the giants.
Ephesians 1:13-14 – “When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance…”
We are sealed. Not just saved from Egypt—but being sanctified daily, led into all truth, and empowered for mission.
Reflection: Are You Living in That Abundance?
The same Spirit who:
Hovered over chaos
Split seas
Lit mountains
Empowered kings
Inspired psalms
Filled the temple with glory
Now lives in you.
So why live like a wilderness dweller when you are a temple of divine gold?
Why live like a Roman jailer when the Spirit came to set the prisoner free?
Closing Prayer
Holy Spirit, You were there from the beginning—hovering, shaping, moving. You breathed over the waters, and they parted. You thundered from the heavens and rescued David. But now, You do more. You live in us. Guide us. Speak through us. Pray within us. We welcome You—abundantly, daily, and reverently. May our lives become living songs, just like Moses and David, but with even greater fire, for we are the temple of the Living God. Amen.
Previous Articles:
“Living Temples: Reflecting Solomon’s Temple, Christ’s Example, and the Holy Spirit’s Role”
“When We Become Rome: What the Spirit Reveals About Our Condition”
https://www.catherinesackey.com/post/when-we-become-rome-what-the-spirit-reveals-about-our-condition
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