Total Freedom

Satan despises our individuality; he wants to suck all freedom of will from us, completely controling us as his instruments of evil and destruction.  God also wants us as His instruments of good on earth, and He also wants to "control" us, but only by our free and utter surrender into His hands.  He so respects our freedom and personhood that He will never come crashing into our lives.  Even when the Lord appeared to Saul on his way to Damascus, though it was a dramatic entrance, it was also the beginning of a two-way conversation:

Who are you, Lord?
I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.

Jesus gave Saul directions which Saul was free to follow or not, in total freedom of will.  Of course, he was blind and helpless, but that gave him time to think and pray for three days.  We know that after his time of prayer, Saul/Paul became a willing "prisoner" of Jesus Christ.    The reason Jesus came in the flesh was in order to "make himself of no reputation, taking upon himself the form of a servant," in order to draw men by their own freedom to God.

The Holy Spirit, valuing our freedom, awaits our assent and, even after we welcome His Presence into our lives, He waits to see how open we are to His help.  As humble as Jesus, He puts Himself at our disposal in order to help others through us.  According to Katherine Marshall,

The startling truth is that [The Helper] will come to us and fill us only to the degree that we are willing to be filled.  He insists on being a welcome guest in our hearts and beings, never a trespasser or an interloper or a squatter (p. 127).

Paul says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit in whom you were sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30).  Our holding onto bitterness, anger, and rage grieves the Holy Spirit, but he will not violate our right to do so in total freedom.

Jesus says, Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone will open to me, I will come in and sup with him and he with me (Rev. 3:20).  It will always be our choice to open the door or to keep it closed.  The Spirit of God will never enter where He is not wanted or welcomed.  But if we choose to allow Him entrance into our lives, we cannot even imagine what He will do there.  Special and continued outpourings and filling will be given for ministry and tough situations, which we could never handle alone.  This has been the experience for many people for centuries---and it can be ours, if we are willing.