Over the last four years I have been humbled by the huge number of people in our lives that have provided love and support to us and during this time I have come to understand the Holy Spirit. I had always struggled with the role of the Holy Spirit in the Trinity. I knew that it placed God in our hearts and in our lives but so what? What does that mean? I read somewhere, perhaps a C.S. Lewis book, that once we accept Christ as our savior and redeemer in our hearts, he places the Holy Spirit in us to both convict us and to comfort us. I now understand.
The Holy Spirit Convicts Me
I think a better word than “convict” would be “correct”, implying that the Holy Spirit “corrects” us when we begin to stray from God’s word. It is really our Christian conscious kicking in when we do, say, or think something that God disapproves of. The moment this happens to me I get a figurative slap against the back of my head from the Holy Spirit telling me to stop, think about what I am doing, saying or thinking, and correct it NOW! But how do we know what God approves or disapproves of? The only source we have for this is the Bible. The Bible is what God has given us for the purpose of understanding “who” He is and “what” He expects of us and why He expects it of us.
Jeremiah 9:23-24 --- Thus says the LORD: Do not let the wise boast in their wisdom, do not let the mighty boast in their might, do not let the wealthy boast in their wealth; but let those who boast boast in this, that they understand and know me, that I am the LORD; I act with steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth, for in these things I delight, says the LORD.
So, once I began to understand and know God and his expectations, the Holy Spirit could go to work in me as a “corrector” or “convictor”, constantly guiding me through a Christian life toward a better understanding of God. These things the Lord “delights” in.
The Holy Spirit Comforts Me
The Holy Spirit as a “comforter” comes from two sources: From the Holy Spirit within me and from the Holy Spirit in those around me.
From within me there is a great deal of comfort in knowing that the Holy Spirit is there as my guide. I have learned to trust the Holy Spirit without question. It is my compass, constantly leading me along the path God wants me to follow, slapping me across the back of the head when I stray from the path. Sometimes I don’t listen and I screw up. The Spirit smacks me again and sometimes again. Eventually I get it, ask and receive forgiveness, and get back on the path. Thank you Lord for the Holy Spirit. (I may have had brain surgery but my head is pretty tough. Keep on smacking.)
From those around me the Holy Spirit provides comfort through their love, support, prayers, and interventions. I cannot count the number of people who have given of themselves for our family in our time of need. I am truly humbled by them. The Holy Spirit works within the Christian community, providing the desire to reach out to each other in time of need, opening hearts for the purpose of helping, inspiring, intervening, loving and providing comfort. I do wonder though if the Holy Spirit is at work only within the Christian Community. I know that once you accept Jesus into your heart He gives you the Holy Spirit as a guide, but is that the only way to get the Holy Spirit? I have seen a lot of love and compassion poured out on us from a lot of people. Are they all “Christians”? Do they all have Jesus in the hearts? I don’t know. I know that God can do his work however he darn well pleases and most of what he does he doesn’t tell us about. In fact, the only thing he has told us is in the Bible, which is all we really need to know. God has secrets. But I can’t help but wonder.
Deuteronomy 29:29 -- The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children for ever, to observe all the words of this law.
I worry that during my life I have not comforted others as I should have. During this journey with cancer I have seen example after example of the Holy Spirit at work from those around me. As I look back over my life I am hard pressed to remember when I have acted unselfishly and reached out to others for no other reason than to help them because it is the right and Christian thing to do. Forgive me Lord for my selfish ways. Please give me the time to comfort others.
Matthew 25:31-45 -- ‘When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. Then the king will say to those at his right hand, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to drink? And when was it that we saw you a stranger and welcomed you, or naked and gave you clothing? And when was it that we saw you sick or in prison and visited you?' And the king will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.' Then he will say to those at his left hand, 'You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not give me clothing, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.' Then they also will answer, 'Lord, when was it that we saw you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not take care of you?' Then he will answer them, 'Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.'
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