S46P11 – A Father’s heart: teaching by his Spirit

John 14:26

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

It was a very dry time. One family tragedy after another began to wear away at his resolve. Each morning he awoke feeling as if he was hanging on by a mere thread but having the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had friends and other support, but in that state he was not quick to realize it. It was everything he could do to just get through the day. If he could only get in the word or spend some time in prayer he might feel like the overcomer he was, but he just festered in his darkness feeling like he would never emerge from that place. But his heavenly Father, who is faithful, did not allow him to remain there. He sent his Spirit to remind the man of the Son’s teachings and spoke truth into that circumstance. Though not seeking to learn, the man still received a teaching from his heavenly Father. God was not content to see his child simply wallow in that dark place.

Today’s scripture are the words of Jesus Christ while He was still with his disciples prior to his death on the cross. This was a time of great and powerful ministry, and He was getting ready to tell them of the tragedy that awaited. Not only would Jesus be nailed to that cross and die a human death, but He would leave the Earth and leave those disciples to lead this ministry themselves. Jesus was speaking to a group of people who would feel abandoned and lonely when that time came, and He was telling them of the comfort that was to come. Jesus knew how they would feel, and He knew that they needed reassurance that they would not be alone after He ascended. It would seem like a dark time indeed as they would be persecuted just as their master was persecuted, but in that dark time the Father would send his Spirit to guide them and remind them of the truth. It is a promise of comfort to every believer in this dark world, and we need to hold on to it.

We will have times when we simply cannot pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. We will have times when it seems as though the world has won, and we are defeated, and we just cannot get ourselves together. In those times, we can count on our Father sending his Holy Spirit to speak truth to us. We can count on that Spirit reminding us of the promises of Jesus Christ spoken by him when He walked among us. Jesus is telling us that we are not alone and that we will be provided the tools that we need to succeed and emerge victorious in all things. Those tools are God’s truth about the spiritual world in which we live and our place of authority within it. Father, thank You for sending your Spirit to guide and teach us, and thank You for the words of your Son that You continually instill in us to bring knowledge and comfort.