Jesus said, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18).
When Christ said this, he was addressing his disciples just before he went to the cross. He had gathered his chosen ones for a last moment of communion before being crucified.
What a sad, sorrowful lot these men were. Their sole source of comfort on the earth was being taken from them. Jesus was their guide, their teacher, their joy and peace and hope. And now he was physically leaving them.
The disciples must have thought, "How will we know what to do? Where shall we go for the words of eternal life? He told us to go into all the world and preach the gospel in his name. But where will the power and authority come from? We've relied on Jesus for everything. We've built our entire world around him. He's God in flesh, and now he's leaving us."
Of course, Jesus knew what they were thinking. And he knew what they were about to face: persecution, hardships, destitution, the loss of all things, the spoiling of their earthly goods, being dragged before judges, being tortured for his name's sake.
Yet I doubt those disciples understood Christ's words to them here: "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you." Jesus was saying, in essence:
"I will never let you face your battles alone. I'll never leave you helpless or powerless against the devil's onslaughts. I know what you're going to face. But I know the Father's plan for you. If you knew and understood it, your hearts would rejoice. You would be leaping for joy right now because I'm going to my Father."
"I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever…he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" (John 14:16–17).
Jesus was telling his disciples, "I leave you as one man, and I will return to you as Spirit."
The Holy Ghost is the very Spirit of Christ. You may ask, "I thought the Holy Spirit was sent to all humankind. Doesn't the Bible say the Spirit will be poured out on all flesh in the last days?"
Yes, the Holy Spirit is sent to the world and to sinners. It is for this purpose: to convict and convince of sin, righteousness and judgment. Christ said of the Spirit, "When he is come, he will reprove [convince] the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment" (John 16:8).
But the Holy Spirit hasn't made the world his dwelling place. He abides only in those who are born again in Christ and walk by faith in his finished work on the cross. The Spirit longs to make himself fully known in them and to them.
You see, the Spirit wasn't sent to us as a passive influence. Many Christians picture the Holy Spirit as some sweet, innocent mist sprayed over the earth, a soothing, divine ether that covers their lives. No — the Holy Spirit is a person, with a personality. He is as real in spirit as you are in flesh. He has a mind, eyes, ears and feelings. You can't picture him in human form, but he hears and talks and feels.
I ask you: If Jesus were suddenly to appear alongside you, walking with you, would you talk to him? Would you have questions for him, any requests? Would you unburden your heart to him and tell him all you're going through?
Of course you would. God has sent the Holy Spirit to us on earth to be just that personal to us.
When the Holy Spirit enters our hearts, he personalizes our relationship with the Father and with Jesus.
The Holy Spirit has a way of simplifying our relationship with God the Father and Jesus. He's the one who teaches us to say, "Abba, Father."
This phrase refers to an adoption custom from biblical days. Until the adoption papers were signed and sealed, the child saw his adoptive father only as a father figure. He had no right to call him Abba, a word whose meaning includes "my" as well as "father."
Yet as soon as those papers were signed and sealed, the child's tutor presented him to the adoptive father. And for the first time, that child could say, "Abba, Father!" In other words, "This man is not just any father anymore. He's my father."
This illustrates the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of all believers. He tutors us about Christ. Then he presents us to the Father. He keeps reminding us, "I have sealed the papers. You are no longer an orphan. You are legally a child of God!"
"Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God…heirs of God…joint–heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:15–17).
The Holy Spirit tells us, "You now have a very loving, wealthy, powerful Father. Embrace him and call him 'my Father.' I have come to show you how much you're loved by him. You once were wild, sinful and rebellious. He never would have adopted you unless he loved and wanted you.
"He is your Father. Jesus is your brother, your Lord, your friend. And I also have been sent to be yours. I live in your heart to guide you, defend you and keep you. Therefore, I want to be intimate with you. I want to walk and talk with you."
Once I became armed with this knowledge at a certain point in my life, I no longer entered my prayer time feeling condemned. I knew my sins were under the blood of Christ. I knew the Holy Spirit gives me all strength to walk with a perfect heart. And I could enter the Spirit's presence and say, "I know you fill the entire world. But you are also mine. You're living in me. Jesus died for the whole world, but he's also my Savior."
Have you caught a glimpse of your own "adoption papers"? They're right in front of you — in your Bible. And the Holy Spirit has put his seal on those papers, declaring, "You have been adopted by the heavenly Father."
The Holy Spirit has been sent to us on a love mission.
The Spirit's mission is to comfort Christ's bride in the absence of the bridegroom, Jesus. "He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16). "The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost" (14:26). "When the Comforter is come" (15:26).
"Comforter" means one who soothes in a time of pain or grief — one who eases pain and sorrow, brings relief, consoles and encourages. I like the following definition from the Greek: "One who lays you down on a warm bed of safety." During the cold, dark night of your soul, the Holy Spirit lays you down on the soft bed of his comfort, soothing you tenderly.
When Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Comforter, he made a sure prediction. It's that his people would surely suffer discomfort. They would need comforting. Simply put, anyone who follows Christ will face pain and suffering.
We know the Spirit came to earth at divinely appointed times — as Creator and as Revealer of divine truth. But only to us who live in these last days has he been sent as Comforter. You may say, "I've heard all my life that the Holy Spirit comforts me. Right now I've never had such problems and difficulties. How exactly does the Spirit bring comfort?"
His comfort to you is contained in two simple phrases.
"You are loved. And you are leaving."
First, the Holy Spirit brings comfort by reminding you he lives in you with all the power of God. You can truly say, "Greater is he that is in me than all the world powers combined — including all demon powers."
God sent the Spirit to use his power to keep you out of the clutches of Satan. He has come to lift your spirit, drive away all despair, and flood your soul with the love of your Father. "We glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience…and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Romans 5:3, 5).
Do you think the Holy Spirit would stand by during your tribulations and do nothing? Would he stand by passively as you're being torn apart, when he was there to number your parts as you were formed in the womb? No, never. At such times, the Holy Spirit comes to you and says the following:
"Drink in the Father's love for you. Don't be ashamed of your trials and tribulations. Keep getting up. God is working his purposes in you, building you up for his glory. His love envelopes you in the midst of your painful trial."
The Holy Spirit will flood you with the knowledge that God loves you.
Multitudes of believers are willing to be convicted of sin and failure. But many won't allow the Holy Spirit to flood them with the love of the Father.
The legalist loves to live only under conviction. He has never understood the love of God because he doesn't allow the Spirit to minister that love to him. As a result, he never feels loved. So he lives under the bondage of thinking he has to prove his love for the Lord.
Over the years, I've taught that the Christian who truly loves Jesus also loves reproof. Such a believer learns to welcome the Holy Spirit's exposure of all hidden areas of sin and unbelief. He knows that the more he allows the Spirit to deal with nagging sin, the happier, freer and more pleasing to God that servant becomes.
Yet some Christians have an attitude of, "Keep on judging me, Lord. Find me out, convict me." This isn't the same as true conviction. It's an attitude I see in some of the letters our ministry receives. For example, whenever I write a message that speaks of judgment, the responses I receive are overwhelmingly approving. But when I share about the love and grace of Christ, I'm accused of no longer preaching truth.
These people seem to be saying, "If you're not reproving us, how can what you're teaching be the gospel?" Such believers have never recognized the great love mission of the Holy Spirit.
Other Christians see themselves as alienated children of a distant Father. They feel they can never quite please him, that they're always failing him. Oh, how that pains the Lord!
If you feel this way, it is an affront to the Holy Spirit. You're refusing to accept his role to bring comfort to your heart. He comforts you with the knowledge that you're loved, that you've been adopted, and that he's with you to see you through all your troubles and problems.
This is an area where we all must learn to walk in the Spirit. Perhaps you've been robbed of God's love because of legalism. You go to church and sit in fearful bondage because you think you have dirty hands, that you're a black sheep in God's eyes. You know you have the legal papers of adoption, but you're ashamed to utter the words, "Abba, Father."
May God deliver you from that today. The Holy Spirit didn't come to condemn you. He came to convict and judge the world. As far as you're concerned, he came to show you that you're adopted by the Father and you are dearly loved.
"As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 66:13).
Isaiah wrote these words to a stubborn people who "went on frowardly in the way of (their) heart" (Isaiah 57:17). I ask you, how long would a teacher stick by a stubborn, obstinate student who refuses to accept her guidance? How long would a counselor be patient with someone who comes in week after week describing the same problem, but refusing to heed any counsel? Not very long.
But Isaiah takes one of the loftiest images possible — that of a mother's love for her child — and shows us something of the love our Father has for us.
During my years in New York City, I've seen many pictures of mothers walking into a courtroom alongside their accused sons. Such a woman sits faithfully throughout the trial, yearning over her boy. As she listens to the evidence piling up, she weeps. She's there when he stands to be sentenced. And as he's led away and turns to wave goodbye, she throws him a kiss and cries as he is taken to prison. But she never gives up on him.
I knew a mother in New York City who took a whole day each week to visit her son in an upstate prison. She got on a bus and rode for hours just to see him for a short while. Such a mother looks across at her son in that drab uniform and sees the agony in his eyes. And with each trip she makes she dies a little more inside. But she never quits on him. He is still her son.
Dear reader, this is the kind of love the Holy Spirit wants you to know God has for you. He comforts us by telling us, "You once said you gave your all to Jesus. You gave him your heart, and he still loves you. Neither will I let you go. I've been sent by him on a love mission to do a work in you. And I will keep doing it."
There is no true comfort for anyone on earth except for the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Every day people turn to psychologists, counselors, friends, pastors, tapes and seminars — and all these things are legitimate sources of help. But nothing meets the great need at the center of our soul except the Lord who created us.
This is why you need the Holy Ghost abiding in you. He alone can lay you down at night, as in a warm bed, and fill your heart with perfect peace. He alone can truly comfort you in times of pain and sorrow. He's the one who will assure you, "This comfort is not just temporary. It is forever. You're going to be comforted now throughout eternity."
Have you been asking for the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit? Then don't look for signs. Just hunger for more of him. Cry, "Holy Spirit, enrapture my heart. Come and possess me as the object of your love. Be my comfort and guide."
Pray in faith, believing and trusting in your loving, heavenly Father. He will not give you a stone when you ask for bread. He will send you the Comforter!