With life it is so easy to get ourselves into these ruts of, "woe is me!" We feel that we are the only ones struggling with circumstances and can't seem to find a way of escape. Especially as Christians, we may feel persecuted and outcasted. The truth is that most of us…okay, ALL OF US, struggle at one point or another. Many just hide the fact that they are and put on the happy Christian face because we fear the fact that if we let the truth come out, one or more things will happen. It will make what we are struggling with more of a reality, and we are in some sort of denial at this point. Or we are afraid that others will judge us, thinking that maybe we caused these circumstances to come upon us in the first place. Really sad right?!?
My point is…our Christian life is full of ups and downs, high points and low points, good day and bad ones. Your completely normal if you've experienced anything like this! But there is a promise from Jesus that can help us through these times of struggle.
"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever." – John 14:16
"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your rememberance all that I have said." – John 14:26
What did Jesus promise us as believers? The Holy Spirit! You may be thinking…"duh! I knew that already!" But have you ever thought about the Holy Spirit as more than just your conscience and guiding light? From the words of Jesus, he tells us that he will bring to our rememberance all the things that Jesus has said and that he will be our helper. Another translation for the word "Helper" is that he will be our "Comforter." The word "comforter" means "one to run to our side and pick us up."
Being a comforter was something that Jesus did during his ministry here on earth, but when he ascended into heaven that role was passed on to the Holy Spirit.
"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you." – John 16:7
So in a practical sense, how do I feel comforted by the Holy Spirit? One way would be through prayer. God promises us that when we pray and present our struggles to him, we will be comforted.
"And the peace of God, which surpasses all unstanding will gaurd your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." – Philippians 4:7
This supernatural peace that we experience is the work of the Holy Spirit in us. And this is a promise of God, so there's nothing better than that.
Another way to practically experience the comfort of the Holy Spirit is just through reading the word of God. We have to remember first and foremost that the Bible is like God's love letter to us. There are times in my quiet time that God really speaks to me through certain passages of scripture. It may have been something that I passed over before without a second glance, and then at this point in time it is so comforting to read. The Holy Spirit can lead us to certain passages he knows will be of comfort to us or help us through that day. One particularly comforting verse is this…
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God." – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
My final experience of how I have personally felt the Holy Spirit be a comforter, is through other people. Sometimes the Holy Spirit can lead others to say just the right thing to us in our time of distress. Fellow Christians can be a great source of comfort to us if we open up a little to them. The body of Christ is huge and instrumental when if comes to the Holy Spirit being our comforter.
So the next time you feel alone, discouraged, trapped in an underwater cage of despair. Just know you are not alone. Jesus Christ himself has sent you all that you need with the Holy Spirit, and he is ready and willing to be your number one source of comfort. The great thing is that he is always with us too. He will never leave us!
