23 The Comfort of the Spirit
THE COMFORT OF THE SPIRIT
A very special grandmother recently related the following experience to me:
My daughter’s call from the hospital emergency room shocked me. My granddaughter Robin, just turned six, had fallen from the high bar at school, severely injuring her mouth. I picked up her sisters at school and spent a hectic, tense afternoon supervising the little ones while awaiting my daughter’s return with Robin.
The doctor had taken eight stitches inside her mouth and six on the outside. As the little ones swarmed over their mother, Robin sat squarely in the biggest chair in the living room. Her face puffed almost beyond recognition, her long hair still ropy with dried blood, she looked tiny and forlorn. Still, I approached her cautiously, for Robin is the least demonstrative, most private of children.
“Is there anything you want, darling?” I asked.
She looked me firmly in the eye and said, “I want a hug.”
Me too! I thought as I cuddled her on my lap. But how and whom does an exhausted grandmother ask? As we rocked gently, the words of Scripture came to me from John 14:16: “I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever” [KJV].
So I asked, just as simply and plaintively as Robin had asked. And just as simply, I felt His everlasting arms enfold us.
Like that grandmother, we often long to have comforting arms surround us in our weariness, heartache, and confusion.
That’s what I love about the Holy Spirit.
Certainly, the Bible names Him as our Counselor. And yes, He is our Intercessor. We’re told elsewhere He is our Teacher, Guide, and the Spirit of Truth. He reminds us of everything Jesus has said. He reveals the Father. He even convicts us of sin. He does so many things. But the one thing I love most …
He’s our Comforter.
There are times when I so yearn to feel the presence of God I almost weep. And I know it is at those times the Holy Spirit is earnestly praying for me. What a comfort to sense His presence in such a close and personal way!
The Lord Jesus tells us in John 16:14 that the Holy Spirit will only bring glory to Him. How true that is. When I sense the consoling presence of the Spirit, it makes me want to praise Jesus all the more.
He has a ready embrace for hurting little girls, heartsick grandmas, worried daddies … and you, too, by the way.
You say it’s been quite a while since you’ve sensed that holy hug?
Maybe it’s been quite a while since you asked.
A Step Closer
But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God.
JUDE 1:20–21, NASB
If you’re hurting today, don’t immediately
grab the phone to call a friend.
Seek the everlasting arms of the Spirit.
He is many things, but most importantly to you today,
He is your Comforter.