Spiritual Growth

God Is …

The Holy Spirit

“I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever–the Spirit of truth.” John 14:16

Imagine how Jesus’ disciples must have felt just after He left them and ascended into heaven. They had spent three years with the Son of God, and now they were left on their own. 

But before Jesus left, He promised them He would send a Counselor to be with them forever. He promised that this helper would live inside them.

Think of a time when you felt the Holy Spirit guiding you to do or not do something. 

Or perhaps you experienced His power in your life when you did something difficult that you knew God wanted you to do. What happened when you followed the Holy Spirit’s leading?

There are debates among Christians about exactly how the Holy Spirit works in each of our lives. 

But the Bible is clear that all who have accepted Christ through faith have been given the gift of the Holy Spirit, which includes:

• access to the truth-telling
• encouragement
• guidance
• conviction
• comfort that comes from the Spirit of God (Acts 2:38, 39).

God has given us His Word to help us know how to live and how to follow Him. But He’s given us more than that- He’s given us a coach to remind us about His Word and to help guide us on the right path. This coach is the Holy Spirit. God speaks through the Holy Spirit.

After Jesus had been with His disciples for about three years, He gathered with them for a special dinner. 

He wanted to give them His final instructions. He knew He would not be with them much longer. 

The next day, He would be killed. Three days after that, He would rise from the dead. He would be with His friends for 40 more days, but then He would go back to heaven.

How would His disciples know what to do? 

How would they continue to grow in their understanding of and love for their heavenly Father? 

Jesus knew His Father’s plan. He was not going to leave them on their own. Here is what He said.

John 14:16, 17:

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him.

But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

*Jesus called the Holy Spirit an advocate. That word comes from a Latin verb that means to summon or to call to a person’s aid. 

It’s a great word for one who is a friend, comforter, helper, and counselor. 

Isn’t it amazing to know that Jesus gave all His followers someone to come to their aid-that He gave them the honor of being able to rely on the Holy Spirit?

Jesus values each one of you so much that He wants to be able to lead, guide, and comfort you. 

John 16:12-15:

I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. 

He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 

He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 

All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.

What will the Spirit of truth do when He comes?

How does the Spirit glorify God?

Guidance from the Holy Spirit will be truthful and godly and glorifying to God because the Holy Spirit is God. 

The disciples who walked with Jesus on Earth did not have the whole Bible to read and take with them wherever they went. 

They needed guidance to be reminded of God’s plan and wisdom after Jesus was gone.

We are blessed with both having the Word of God in print that we can study and discuss, but also having access to the help and comfort that comes through the Holy Spirit. 

When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we gain access to the Spirit.

The Spirit guides us in many ways. Sometimes we can feel His comforting presence.

Sometimes He speaks through that little voice inside our minds that tells us the right thing to do (also called your conscience). 

And often He speaks to us through Scripture, showing us God’s direction for our lives.

Anytime you want to verify that guidance is coming from the Holy Spirit, you can see if it agrees with Scripture. 

The Holy Spirit’s guidance will always agree with the Bible. 

How wonderful it is that we have someone to walk alongside us and help us always!

Keep in mind that the Holy Spirit isn’t going to sit down next to you and tell you step by step what He wants you to do, but He makes His will known in other ways.

If the Holy Spirit is described as leading us into truth, speaking on God’s authority, and glorifying God, what are some reasons we might not be able to hear from the Spirit or recognize the Spirit’s guidance in our lives? 

What might be in our lives that would prevent us from knowing the Holy Spirit?

The voices of the world showing us how we should act and look are pretty loud at times. 

They can be louder than the Holy Spirit, filling our minds with distractions and deception. 

Sometimes these ungodly messages can trigger feelings of stress, anxiety, or even depression.

If you are seeking peace or joy today, as a Christian you can be sure that Jesus has supplied you with the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, for the hope of glory. 

Peace, joy, vision, and clarity are provided to you through His Word and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

The more you realize that you belong to the Father God, listen for the words of the Good Shepherd Jesus, and lean on the guidance and comfort of the Holy Spirit, the more you will be able to focus on the hope and grace Jesus has given us.

Most often the Holy Spirit speaks through the Bible. 

We may read and understand things we did not understand before, or we may find just the right verse to help us with a problem we’re having. 

We can recognize it is the Holy Spirit guiding us because He will never tell us to do anything that is different from what the Bible tells us.

Sometimes we may recognize Him telling us to do something or to avoid something. He gives us a sense of what is right and leads us in the right direction.

Sometimes He uses other people to give us His message. He may bring the right person into our lives at exactly the right time. 

That person will speak God’s truth to us. Or He may use multiple people telling us the same message, over and over again, until it becomes clear to us.

Sometimes He also speaks through experiences, books we read, or music we hear.

He even uses our circumstances-situations that seem like God has arranged them to help us make decisions. 

Remember, He will never tell us to do anything that goes against what the Bible says.

The Holy Spirit is our “daily guide” for God’s will in our lives. 

Once you have committed your life to Jesus, accepting His sacrifice and forgiveness, and you want to follow Him in the way you live, you have the gift of the Holy Spirit as every other Christian does.

You may be asking a question like this: “Why doesn’t God just tell us everything we need to know about His plan for us as soon as we get saved?” 

And I bet you actually have a good answer for that. Think about it.

One great way to get to know God and to feel closer to Him is through spending time with Him in prayer. 

Prayer is not just a way of laying out our requests for God. Prayer is a time when we can focus on who God is and how He is working in our lives. 

It’s a time when we can open up our hearts and tell God our feelings. It’s a time when the Spirit can help us and remind us about what God wants for us.

Romans 8:26

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Do you ever want to talk to God, but you do not know what to say? This is one way that God the Holy Spirit helps us. Even when we do not know what to say,

God knows.

Here are some thoughts to guide your prayer time.

• Think about how comforting it is to have a friend with you who knows all about you.

• If you would like to, talk with God about what you are thinking about and ask for help in understanding what the Holy Spirit wants to tell you.

• Look for the obstacles that are keeping you from getting to know God more.

• Write down some people or issues that you struggle with, or questions you have about God and faith. Then take time to pray about those things. 

• Ask God for guidance and help to be freed from the things that are preventing you from knowing Him better.
• If you are feeling anxious or doubtful, read through John 14. Jesus starts out this passage with these words: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” 

At Home

Read John chapters 13 and 15 and think about why the disciples might have been troubled, even though Jesus was right there in front of them.

It is strangely comforting to know that even those who were with Jesus in the flesh sometimes felt fearful and worried. 

And Jesus saw that and wanted to help them. He sees you too and wants to help you. 

You are never alone, because God’s Spirit is with you.