He’s All You Need...Especially, When He’s All You Got
WE DO NOT REALIZE THE IMPORTANCE AND THE VALUE OF A BLESSING UNTIL IT IS ALL WE HAVE OR NO LONGER ACCESSIBLE.
Grief is a weird concept and a part of life.
No matter how well you play at the game of life, at some point you will encounter grief. Whether it be after a breakup, leaving a job that you were at for years, the loss of a favorite pet, or (the one that hurts the most) the loss of a parent. Grief a lifelong journey and does not really have a destination because, throughout your life, you will learn something new about yourself, the world, and the loss you experience which will impact the person you grow into. Grief is weird and yet, one of the greatest blessings of life.
Yes, you read that correctly. Grief is a blessing. To be stripped of something, to gain another level of wisdom from an experience with someone or something, these are some of the gifts that come with loss.
Now before I give you the Biblical references that help me come to realize how much of a blessing grief can be, let me tell you why I am sharing my heart with you through this post.
Never once, not in any way, did I ever believe that I would be saying goodbye to my dad at 25 years of age. If you were to foreshadow it, I would have looked at you funny. However, as I am sitting here listening to the waves crashing on the beach, soaking in the sun’s rays on my chocolate skin, and taking in the salty air, I know that this is now my reality. My time with my dad on earth has come to an end.
…and though I could leave this post on a sour note that is necessary and true, there is a deeper lesson in this new normal of mine. One that I must thank God for revealing much earlier.
You see, there is something truly profound in the message that Jesus shared with us in John 15: 26 – John 16: 1-15.
' “When the Counselor comes, the one I will send to you from the Father — the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father — he will testify about me. You also will testify, because you have been with me from the beginning.'
—John 15:26-27 (CSB)
' “I have told you these things to keep you from stumbling. They will ban you from the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering service to God. They will do these things because they haven’t known the Father or me. But I have told you these things so that when their time comes you will remember I told them to you. I didn’t tell you these things from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going away to him who sent me, and not one of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Yet, because I have spoken these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; and about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own, but he will speak whatever he hears. He will also declare to you what is to come. He will glorify me, because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I told you that he takes from what is mine and will declare it to you. About sin, because they do not believe in me; '
—John 16:1-15
Jesus explains to us that he is sending us the Paraklētos . This word is Greek for an advocate, intercessor, counselor, comforter, helper, and ultimately the one called to another’s aid.
The Lord tells us that for our benefit, he must leave us. (Yes, our benefit; how cool is that!) Jesus needed to suffer in our place. (Paul harps on this throughout Romans) That for us to testify about the Lord (to be witnesses of the Jesus) we must have the Holy Spirit within us. We must have the Spirit of Truth to speak the truth. (For this reason, the disciples had to wait till the Day of Pentecost to share the Good News) We cannot discern, live righteously, and be convicted as we convict the world without the Counselor, the Guide, and the Advocate: aka the Holy Spirit.
As much I love breaking down the Bible and deciphering through the different translations, there are three characteristics of the Holy Spirit that I want to speak with you about today:
THE COMFORTER
Remember my statement at the beginning of this post? Well, for the past couple of years, God has been dropping snippets of the importance of how the Holy Spirit operates, especially as the comforter. Though, there is something about facing the loss of a loved one, especially those you hold dear to your heart that enlightens you.
In fact, I believe that one of the many blessings of Jesus coming here on Earth to die in our place was God fulfilling Psalms 27:9-10 and Isaiah 42:14-17.
“Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger. You have been my helper, do not leave me or abandon me,God of my salvation. Even if my father and mother abandon me, the Lord cares for me.”
—Psalms 27:9-10
'They will be turned back and utterly ashamed — those who trust in an idol and say to a cast image, ‘You are our gods! ’ I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on paths they have not known. I will turn darkness to light in front of them and rough places into level ground. This is what I will do for them, and I will not abandon them. I will lay waste mountains and hills and dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into islands and dry up marshes. “I have kept silent from ages past; I have been quiet and restrained myself. But now, I will groan like a woman in labor, gasping breathlessly. ' —Isaiah 42:14-17
There is absolutely something powerful and supernatural peace that seeps into your spirit when you know that even when life seems to be falling apart and anything and everything is going wrong, God is there with you. God hears your prayers, He senses your pain, and He is hugging you spiritually. No matter how many apologies you receive in any situation, it is the full understanding that God is there with you and He is got this which begins to heal you.
The LORD knew we needed to know that He’s in everything with us, especially the storms of life which is why He had to make Himself relatable in the form of Jesus and continue to reassure us of His love through His constant presence: the Holy Spirit.
THE GUIDE
Knowing that we have God with us (we are literally living life with God 24/7), gives us comfort and undeniable confidence in the steps we take even when it does not make sense. There is a boldness that you tap into (God-fidence) when you know God, you know that He is absolutely in love with you, and you know that He’s in the driver seat, not you. This God-fidence is the same boldness that Jesus had when the disciples woke him up and asked him if he even cared about the storm that was going on. (Do not wake me up during my nap, it wouldn’t be pretty; I’m not Jesus)
Rereading the story of the storm in Mark 4:35-41, I noticed how Jesus never answer the disciples because it’s not that He didn’t care, however, it was that Jesus knew where to place his cares and concerns. Jesus knew that to weather the storms of life, we must know where to place our faith and by doing so, we can clearly navigate the battles of this world.
'On that day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross over to the other side of the sea.” So they left the crowd and took him along since he was in the boat. And other boats were with him. A great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking over the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. He was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion. So they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher! Don’t you care that we’re going to die?” And they were terrified and asked one another, “Who then is this? Even the wind and the sea obey him!” Then he said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He got up, rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still!” The wind ceased, and there was a great calm. '
—Mark 4:35-41
After calming the storm, Jesus said, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” He said this because He wanted to indicate two important things about what it means to have the Spirit of God within you through the faith in God and himself. Jesus wanted us to know that from the most minuscule issues to the most life-changing situations, the Holy Spirit is here to guide us.
No problem, big or small, is a nuisance to God. In fact, He wants us to speak with Him about everything, regardless of God knowing it all. God wants to increase our peace and give us the discernment to fulfill His perfect will for us (Romans 12:2). One is a blessing that comes with the adoption into God’s family and the other is the provision that helps us complete our mission.
'Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God. '
—Romans 12:2
THE INTERCESSOR
To explain what it means to be an intercessor, I am going to give the textbook definition and then my own:
Textbook: a person who intervenes on behalf of another, especially by prayer.
(Now, typically some of us understand that definition but I am not some. I had to dig and pray a little to gain a better understanding of what it means to truly be an intercessor.)
Abigail’s Definition: one who is ready, willing, and committed to jumping in front of the bullet for another especially when it comes to the spiritual battles that are waging.
See, when I think of an intercessor or the Holy Spirit, I always get a picture of my mother or a parent. When a person becomes the parent of another, you are making a lifelong commitment to your time and life not being all about you. A parent works around the clock to ensure that their child is safe, healthy, and most importantly loved in every way possible. The Holy Spirit does this for us in all the different aspects of his character. The Spirit of Truth is naturally our spiritual parent as we await our first brother’s return.
In other words, the Holy Spirit understands you better than any person ever could (including your parents and partner).
There are times in my life when the Holy Spirit showed me this side of Himself. Though the one experience that showed me just how powerful and committed the Spirit of God is when comes to interceding on our behalf is most recently when I found out on August 5th, 2020 that my earthly father had completed his time on earth.
There was an agony that as a writer, with about 600,000 words in the English dictionary, there were absolutely no words to convey what I was feeling and experiencing at that moment. Truly, I kept repeating to my friend who was with me at the time I got the news and through the tears, “I never want anyone to experience this pain. I wish I could protect every person from this pain.”
In the tears, in the loud outburst, in the sadness, I knew as clear as possible that God was listening to my prayer. A prayer that I cannot repeat but of deep sorrow. A prayer that the Holy Spirit helped my heart to design and translated to God. There were no words, just loud and sporadic cries leaving my lips. This was God showing me His unconditional love, through His mercy and grace by reminding me in the pain that He has given me my greatest asset: The Holy Spirit.
From being a helper that knows exactly where the assistance is needed, the power of Heaven (Luke 24:49), the advocate when we have no words, to being the comforter in all storms of life, the guide that keeps us from stumbling, and the intercessor that loves unconditionally.
Indeed, the Holy Spirit is all you need especially when He is all you’ve got. Hold on tight and never let him go, he is your greatest asset.
Until next time…
—🌿 Abigail
