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 (John 14:16-17).
Does following Jesus sometimes make you tired? I will admit I am finding myself a lot more tired and discouraged than I’ve been at any other time in my life. There are a lot of days I’m tired of trying to do what is right, tired of figuring out how to speak the truth in love, tired of turning the other cheek and definitely tired of taking the high road and feeling like I’m always getting kicked in the gut.
As I was reading and preparing to write today’s post, it dawned on me. While my calling or what is required of me hasn’t changed, maybe I’m tired because I’m not using all the resources available to me.
In John chapter 14, Jesus tells his disciples that God was sending them a helper to guide them after Jesus departed from the earth. But the Advocate, 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 14:26). Ah ha. I am called to do what is right, speak truth and turn the other cheek, but I don’t have to do all these things on my own. The Holy Spirit, who lives in my heart, will show me the way if I call on his power.
As I was studying for this post, I came across three insights about the Holy Spirit that that were very helpful to me:
- The Holy Spirit is defined by truth, it is his nature / who he is. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes…(John 16:13). The Holy Spirit isn’t just any spirit, he is the Spirit of Truth.
- Speaking truth is the Holy Spirit’s purpose. …he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future (John 16:13). The truth the Spirit speaks to us is from Jesus himself. And don’t forget, Jesus is THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIGHT.
- When the Spirit Speaks Truth, he brings glory to Jesus – He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me (John 16:14). God is glorified when the Holy Spirit guides our actions.
God, thank you for sending your Spirit to dwell in our hearts and guide us in truth. As we follow his ways, may we find new energy and continually bring glory to you. Amen.