“But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak onlywhat He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
– John 16 [NIV]
These are some of the last words Jesus speaks to His followers, and they’re pretty tough to hear.
You’re going to be rejected. Hurt. Some of you will be killed.
Oh, and one other thing. I’m not going to be there when it happens.
No wonder He says they are filled with grief. Can you imagine? That must have been brutal to hear. Like He always does, though, Jesus follows it up with good news.
But you won’t be alone. The Spirit of God is coming, not just to be near you, but in you.
It’s important to understand that until now, the disciples had followed a God beside them. Jesus was tangible, present, human, and available. From this point forward though, they’d follow a God who lives within them.
Woah. Mic drop. That’s a profound shift.
Why? What does that even mean for us?
No matter how hard things get, what disappointment life might hold, what fear creeps in or what difficult circumstances come your way, the Spirit of God lives within you. And if you’ve never taken that step of trusting Jesus, this is the invitation He offers you.
That changes everything.
He’s guiding you every single step of the way. And if you don’t know that yet, or haven’t thought about it in a while, now would be a great time to pause and thank Him that He makes you His dwelling place. What a gift to have access to the Father any time we need Him.
Tomorrow we’ll talk about what happens when our test is trusted. We’ll see you back for Day Three.
REFELECTION:
Do you tend to live as though God is distant, or as though His Spirit truly dwells within you?
How might your fears shift if you remembered that He is with you right now?
If you’ve never surrendered your life to Jesus, consider pausing right now and asking Him to be your Lord. It’s as simple as praying, Jesus, I give my life to you, and I ask you to come into my heart and guide my life. Everything I have is yours. Amen.
LET US PRAY!
Holy Spirit, guide us into truth when fear tries to rewrite the story. Remind ust hat You are not beside us but within us.
In Jesus’ Name
AMEN!
