I Want It Allনমুনা

The Spirit's Power

In Scripture, we see a beautiful promise. Before His crucifixion and resurrection, Jesus told His disciples that He must die in order to connect the sinful hearts of man to the holy heart of God. He explained that although He was leaving this world, His followers would not be left alone or without power. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth” (John 14:15-17).

Jesus went on to say, “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (John 14:25-26). The Holy Spirit connects us to God’s power. He’s the conduit between our problems and the solutions we are desperate for. Between our weaknesses and the strength we long for.

A few thoughts occur to me as I read this. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit “the Counselor”. In the ESV translation of this verse, Jesus calls Him “the Helper”. Both refer to the Greek root word paraklētos, which is a masculine noun that means He is our intercessor (stands in the gap for us), our comforter (cares for our hurts), our advocate (pleads on our behalf, comes to our aid, and supports our cause).

If you are a good church girl, then you have seen all this before. You know who the Bible says the Holy Spirit is. But consider this question: do you connect the power of who He is to your needs?

As I recognize my need for Holy Spirit power in my life, I begin to put the principles in action. Like this:
* When I feel overwhelmed, I can call on the Holy Spirit as my Intercessor… to connect my anxiousness to the peace of God … to be a liaison between the needs of my heart and the Father.
* When I feel sad, lonely, or depressed, I can call on the Holy Spirit to be my Comforter … to console my unease … to lift my fallen heart … to give beauty and take my ashes.
* When I am under attack by the Accuser … the Liar, I can call on the Holy Spirit to be my Advocate … to defend me with the truth … to support my cause to the Father.

Can you see yourself in any of this? Can you sense that the Holy Spirit can and should make a difference in how you approach your days and dilemmas? I can. Just writing about who He is helps me gain a more vivid understanding of the power I have access to.

Two other takeaways from that conversation Jesus had with His disciples gave me clarity as well. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of the things He had spoken. (V26) That word “teach” implies that there are things that I do not know and the word “remind” implies that the Holy Spirit will help me to remember truths that I do know, but may have forgotten. This is clutch, because I know there is a ton that I don’t know. Follow? And I know that there is a ton of spoken-Jesus-truth that lies dormant in foggy recesses of my memory. When I ask the Holy Spirit to teach and remind me of the Words of Jesus that I need to know – it’s a whole new ball game. His power turns on in me.