John 16:5-16
5 But now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” [1]
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What strikes me in this passage is the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, leading and guiding us into truth and making known to us the Father and the Son. Yesterday’s passage touched on the promise of the Advocate or Holy Spirit who will be with us as we testify, even in the face of hatred and persecution. In today’s passage Jesus expands on the role of the Holy Spirit.
The thing that struck me is the promise of the presence of the Spirit. Jesus is going away but the Spirit is coming, and He is promising that the Holy Spirit will be with them as much as He has been with them. The leading, guiding and teaching that He has been doing among them will continue with the Holy Spirit. And that continues into the lives of believers today.
So how does the Holy Spirit do this in our lives? How can I place myself more fully under the Spirit’s guidance and teaching?
I think of it as being in the connection between the Word, prayer and our lives. The Spirit is the author of the Word and speaks to us today through it. It is the Spirit who transforms the Word in our hearts from mere biblical information into a word that addresses our lives today. That’s why it’s important to combine Word and prayer (what the Abide devotions are all about!). I pray before opening the Word, and pray what the Word brings to mind, and what I’m doing is seeking to let the Spirit through the Word give me insight and guidance from the Word into my life. In my experience, those insights don’t always come right away or at first glance. Sometimes it’s a matter of spending time with a passage, wrestling with it, memorizing it, praying it. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to show us and guide us what God wants us to take to heart in that passage and to lead us to put it in to practice.
Obviously my prayer today is for the Spirit’s guidance in my time in the Word, today and always. I am also praying for all who are reading this devotion, for the Spirit’s guidance in your reading as well. May He give you ears and hearts to hear His guidance and put it into life.
What is the Word leading you to pray about today?
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[1] The New International Version. 2011 (Jn 16:4–16). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
