The Comforter

The Comforter

We live in a world of brokenness. There are broken lives, broken families, broken promises, shattered dreams, and unfulfilled expectations. In this broken world, we do not need sympathy or pity.

We need a Comforter, and that’s exactly what Jesus sent us.

Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Comforter on four occasions (John 14:16, John 14:26, John 15:26, John 16:7). The Greek word for the Holy Spirit is parakletos. This compound word combines the words para, which means to be in close proximity to or to come alongside, and kletos, which means to call or summon. In other words, a parakletos is one who is called or summoned to be in close proximity to or alongside another.

For example, my wife Stacy is close to me nearly all the time. She is there when I wake up in the morning and when I lay down at night. She lives with me, talks with me, travels with me, prays with me, pastors with me, and has raised children with me. We spend so much time together that it’s impossible for her presence not to affect and impact me.

When I asked Stacy to marry me, I called her to be alongside me and assist me. She is, by definition, my parakletos. Similarly, when you asked Jesus to be Lord and Savior of your life, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Just like Stacy’s presence impacts me, the Holy Spirit wants to affect the outcome of your life. He wants to assist in your daily choices and decisions.

The Holy Spirit is called to be alongside you to assist you, and He is with you all the time. There are rare occasions when Stacy and I are not together, but the Holy Spirit is with me during those times, too. He is with you all day and all night, when things are falling apart and when they are going well, when you curse and when you bless, and whether you lose or win. He is with you when you go to work, the store, the movies, and church.

The Holy Spirit is always with you.

Not only is the Holy Spirit always with you, He wants to comfort you. He is the Comforter because He will ask you to do things that make you uncomfortable. He may ask you to move far away, become a missionary, take a new job with a pay cut, marry a single parent, or give away a lot of money. All these things may feel uncomfortable, but the Comforter will encourage, help, and support you wherever He takes you in life.

What uncomfortable thing is the Holy Spirit leading you to do?

Go ahead and jump boldly into it, because the Comforter will be there helping you every step of the way.