Not orphans
| And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-- 17 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. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John14:16-18) |
We... are... not... orphans!
We... are... not... alone!
God is with us!
The disciples were appalled at the prospect of Jesus returning to the Father. But Jesus promises them something incredible: God's Spirit - the third member of the God family will come and live in and with them, you and me. I am not alone. I am not forsaken. God is with me.
As invisible as the wind, like the still small voice heard by Elijah, like a stream of living water flowing in my soul, like fire in my bones, like a seal of ownership on my heart - this is who the Holy Spirit is and this is what He does. He is the presence of God in my life and this makes me a temple. And this temple has a torn curtain - the holy of holies is open and I can worship because God has chosen to be with me and Jesus has paid for my sin.
Even as I write these words, the beauty of this truth wrecks me: As I sit here, I am known and loved so much by God that He sends His Spirit into my heart. As I sit here, God is at work in me and in you. Even when we try to hide big parts of our heart from the Spirit, He is patient and perseveres with us. Even when the chaos of life threatens to overwhelm me, I can follow the Psalmist's advice and "be still and know that He is God."
I am not alone - Thank you Holy Spirit!
