Attending
The Spirit is our advocate, we saw yesterday, our helper. But the great promise of Jesus is that the Spirit will be present with us. He will not just be our helper, He’ll be with us – He’ll be “in attendance” in our hearts!
The Right Person’s Presence
I’m sure you know what it’s like when the right person shows up to situation that needs that person. The relief! The trust, when the right person comes in!
The other day one of our kitties was not doing so well so we took him off to the vet here in Boksburg North. We’ve had a long relationship with Dr Meyer there, and in fact this same cat of ours went for a surgery a good few years back and Dr Meyer was so good with him and so good to us.
So we rushed off the vet with Charlie, and we were panicking. Our other kitty had died a few days before and we were just thinking the worst. We got to the vet and sat there wondering who was on duty.
And then Dr Meyer walked out and greeted us, and I must tell you, just his presence calmed us down! When he walked into our situation, we just felt a sense of peace! Because when we saw him we remembered “this man we can trust! He knows what to do!”
I think the Spirit of God is something like this. His presence is everything to us! And it’s when we are cognisant of His presence, when we believe in His presence, when we know His presence, that we are comforted.
The Comforter Has Come
In fact, some English translations don’t use the word “Advocate” that I used earlier, in these words of Jesus. Some translators take the Greek word parakletos and instead of translating it as Advocate, they believe that the better English word is “comforter”.
That’s why, in the background of the devotions this week, I am playing an old song called The Comforter Has Come. That’s what happened on Pentecost.
I asked my colleague Rev. Pieter which translation of parakletos he prefers. He thought long and hard. And he said “Comforter”. That’s how he best understood Jesus’ promise about His Spirit, that He would be present to comfort us and console us as we go through life.
The Spirit wants to be “in attendance” in your life. He wants to be the one who helps you like an advocate, and comforts you with His peace.
Ask the Spirit to be your helper and your comforter today. He is faithful, and will attend you, if you believe.
