'He will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you.' John 14:16
Remember dinner without mobile devices? Friends and family enjoying each other's company, uninterrupted by technology? We're a generation that's losing the art of communication and intimacy - and it's impacting the time we spend alone with God. Although Jesus preceded the high-tech age, he was in constant demand; multitudes pursued him at all hours of the day and night. But the Scriptures tell us: 'long before daybreak [Jesus]went out alone into the wilderness to pray' (Mark 1:35). Jesus made time to be alone with his Father.
It requires spiritual discipline to eliminate life's noise and racket and be still and listen. But if you practise it, you will discover a heart-satisfying intimacy and fellowship with God. Invest a few minutes reading John chapters 14-16, and let your spirit absorb Jesus' message. Notice, he wants his disciples to have peace, and he comforts them with the assurance that they're never left alone. These are blessings he wants you to share too.
How can you find this peace and comfort? Answer: 'It's an inside job,' because the Holy Spirit lives in you. Jesus told his disciples, I will ask the Father and he will give you another Comforter, and he will never leave you' (John 14:16). It may be Christianity's best-kept secret, that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer and can provide everything we need to handle life's difficulties. The Comforter was promised by the Son, sent by the Father, and today he is ours by faith. Embrace him, trust his power, experience his peace and follow his unfailing guidance.
'It is to your advantage that I go away.' John 16:7 NKJV
Even as the disciples' hearts ached about Jesus' departure, he assured them it was to their advantage because it would bring them a new era of power and authority (see John 14:12). Being 'under new management' wasn't the end but a continuation of Christ's ministry as the Holy Spirit took the baton from the Son's hand and placed it in theirs. The Son would leave, but the Spirit would 'abide with [them] for ever' (John 14:16 NKJV). This was their 'advantage'. The Spirit would enter their human bodies and live permanently in them! This is no tentative, vague connection. It's God's Spirit choosing us as his permanent dwelling place.
Have you ever considered the advantage this gives you? For example, you might awake tomorrow feeling stressed, weary and irritated, and, humanly speaking, these feelings could easily dictate your day. But because the Spirit lives in you, these things don't have to control you. Paul writes, 'Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you' (1 Corinthians 6:19 NKJV)? Once you accept that promise by faith, you become God's temple. You can be at work, driving the kids to school, walking the dog, waiting for biopsy results, or attending the funeral of your best friend, and as you go about your everyday life, God's Spirit is living in you.
Can you see why Jesus told the disciples it was good for him to leave and send the Holy Spirit? Whatever you do, don't let this life-changing truth slide by you!
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