“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.” — John 16:13
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Brock Purdy was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers a few years ago. He was the last quarterback drafted and many experts doubted he’d be a starter or have a long NFL career. But he ended up leading his team to the Super Bowl in only his second season. His throwing and running ability make him an effective quarterback. Though he’s been dealing with injuries this season, he is considered the starter when healthy.
Like other athletes, Purdy hears so many voices daily. Coaches push them to get better, columnists and commentators write critiques of them weekly, and social media lists all their gripes for everyone to see. It’s easy for players to lose confidence or doubt their ability to continue to perform at the highest level. Ultimately, they need strength and direction from a higher power.
We too get the voices of friends, family or coworkers advising us when we’re not sure what to do or where to go. Our trusted friends can help us improve our situation or avoid a bad mistake. However, even the best and smartest people are wrong sometimes, so we shouldn’t put all our trust in humans. We need a completely reliable guide who wouldn’t ever fail us. Who would that be? The Holy Spirit is the ultimate advisor. Since we can’t see the Holy Spirit, we can be prone to doubt His wisdom and greatness, but Jesus explained the Holy Spirit sees what we don’t see and knows what we don’t know (John 16:13, above).
The Holy Spirit came to dwell in the hearts of believers after Jesus rose from the dead and went back to Heaven. The disciples prayed and waited for 10 days until they started their ministry because Jesus told them to wait for the Holy Spirit to show them daily where they ought to be to carry out God’s plan. “He said to them: ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth'” (Acts 1:7-8).
The Holy Spirit is eternal just like God the Father and God the Son. The Trinity is beyond our understanding, but God is real and we walk in God’s will when we’re led by the Spirit rather than the world and our sinful thoughts. When we’re tempted to go our own stubborn way, the Spirit prompts us with gentle pleadings — and it’s good when we listen to the Lord. After we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we still will sin sometimes, so we need to make up our minds to be guided by the Spirit. The Bible instructs us to put aside our jealousy, envy and hatred and live out God’s love and truth in our lives. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:25).
When Christians live under the authority of the Holy Spirit and the Holy Bible, we’ll see more peace, love, forgiveness and impact on the outside world. Our selfish ways don’t build God’s Kingdom, but the Holy Spirit turns our bitterness into sacrificial love, our hot tempers into daily kindness, our rudeness into gentleness, and our jealousy into generosity. Though some people may think we’re weak when the Holy Spirit is our Commander from day to day, it takes a strong person to refuse to follow the devil and follow God instead.
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
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