Showing posts with label comforter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comforter. Show all posts

Full Package Deal

This morning my devotions led me to the gospel of John and I found myself reading through familiar chapters. I've always enjoyed 14-17, they are mostly Jesus' words and each verse seems to be so rich. But today I landed in chapter 15, verse 26.

The New Living Translation interpreted it this way:  But I will send you the Counselor - the Spirit of Truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about me.  My Bible has a footnote on "Counselor" which elaborates a bit. It says: or Comforter, or Encourager, or Advocate, Greek Paraclete. Today - this made my day!

There are two things that stuck out to me, first of all that Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth which to me means when I embrace Him I embrace truth. I won't be looking for words that just make me feel good, half-truths or anything but truth as I seek Him.

The second thing is that there are so many interpretations of the Greek word, Paraclete. Holy Spirit is sent to us, but He also lives in us. "Paraclete" can mean one who walks alongside; and I like that. But Jesus says He will be in us not just with us. But He is also our counselor - helping us find wisdom to make each decision caregivers have to make. And He is our comforter - to console us on those days we can't seem to get a handle on.

 He is also considered an encourager to offer us positives when the world around us seems to be mostly negatives. I love encouragers - they can say just the right thing to keep you going. When I ran the OKC half marathon a couple weeks back, the road was lined with people who encouraged the runners. They kept offering words that motivated us to keep going when it got tough. Holy Spirit knows just what to speak into our hearts to help us keep our morale up and keep going.

And He is our advocate. We are our loved one's advocate - or one who speaks on their behalf for their benefit. Holy Spirit can present our case to God when we are not even sure what to ask.

So there is SO much in this seemingly short phrase - I will send you the Counselor. As believers, we have Holy Spirit living inside of us to comfort, counsel, encourage, and advocate for our soul's deepest needs. It's a full package deal! God didn't say that because we are caregivers and Holy Spirit might have to work overtime so we don't get the package deal. Actually He pours out more grace on us and wants us to know that Holy Spirit can handle us and our stressful environment. We have all of Him and He has all of us!

Today I am going to think about the all-sufficiency of God. He really is all I need. I'm going to let Him deal with the feelings of loss that oftentimes are associated with caregiving. My meditation will be on all I have in Him. Will you join me?

How Long is Forever?

It is interesting to me that Jesus promised that when He left this earthly realm He would send a comforter. The Greek indicates someone who will walk alongside you, someone to stay right by your side to help and comfort you along the way. Why didn't He send a healer? I know that God heals, there is no doubt about that - why didn't Jesus use any of the other names of God when speaking of the Holy Spirit's indwelling?

He could have send He was sending a healer, provider, a peace maker or a way maker. God certainly does all of those things through the work of Holy Spirit here on earth. But Jesus chose instead to refer to Holy Spirit as comforter, teacher and guide in John 14-15. The fact that Jesus started John 14 with do not let your heart be troubled and then repeated it again in verse 27 of the same chapter indicates there would probably be some things arise in the apostle's lives that would be unsettling or troublesome.

Jesus indicates that Holy Spirit will teach us and guide us into all truth. But He called Him the comforter for a reason. (He never wastes anything!) Life can be unsettling, the life of a caregiver can stay that way! Those of us who are breathing (caregiver or not) experience life altering situations. Many things happen along the journey that we didn't expect. It may be illness, car wrecks, the loss of a child or any number of things that we really didn't foresee as part of the way things were going to work out...Jesus knew...

He knew that on this journey of life some of these huge things would attempt to disrupt our vision of God. Holy Spirit is sent to us to empower us to always keep God in view. No matter what life throws at us, no matter what comes up (or goes down) in a day's time - He is the constant comforter who is always explaining the Father and His love to us.

You know what the cool thing is? Jesus said that Holy Spirit will be with us forever. That is a concept that is difficult to grasp. Everything we know and experience has a beginning and an ending. But the presence of Holy Spirit in our lives has no end. He has made His abode in us and is there to stay. I think this is one of the most comforting things to me. He doesn't ever look at a situation and say, "Oh no!" Or "I didn't see that coming!" He is calmly residing in us to help us work through every situation that presents itself to us. He is here forever. He is not going away because we got angry with God or His plan. He doesn't tuck and run when those situations become more complicated. He is the only constant in our lives.

Today let us rejoice in the ever-abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Embrace His comforting touch today.

The Stare

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