Holy Spirit: Our Friend

As independent as we are, no one operates best by themselves all the time. We need people. In fact, we are hard-wired for community by the One who dwells in eternal community. And when we’re most honest with ourselves, we embrace our need for an intimate friend, one who will come alongside us through all of life’s ups and downs.

Such thinking brings to mind the original Twelve, the disciples Jesus had called to follow Him. The ones who had the Son of God walking with them, right beside them for three whole years – and how such closeness with Jesus must have filled gaps, healed wounds, strengthened hearts, and aided their growth in every way. 

If I had been among the Twelve, I might have begun my journey with Jesus with awe and wonder, but along the way, I could see myself getting used to His nearness. I think I might have taken for granted His constant presence and helping hand. So then I imagine my reaction as that third year saw an increase in Jesus talking about His death, His ‘going away’. And how on that last night I might have panicked, wondering, among other things, what in the world I was to do without Jesus by my side.

So when I read Jesus’ words to the Twelve in John fourteen, I receive what He says with a new understanding, a better comprehension of what He was doing, of what He was promising:

“I will talk to the Father, and he’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone with you. This Friend is the Spirit of Truth. The godless world can’t take him in because it doesn’t have eyes to see him, doesn’t know what to look for. But you know him already because he has been staying with you, and will even be in you!”

John 14:16-17 MSG

God the Son talks to God the Father about sending God the Spirit. In other words, Jesus knew that His disciples would miss Him, that they would need ‘another Friend’. So He set into motion God’s plan for Holy Spirit’s coming. He prepared His followers for the wind and fire of Pentecost. Only this Friend wouldn’t just be with them physically, limited by time and space. This Friend would dwell in them, spiritually able to be in every single one of them all at the same time. 

John, the scribe of this particular scene between Jesus and His disciples at the Last Supper, describes Holy Spirit as the paraklétos – ‘the One called near to help’.¹ The Paraclete, our Spirit-Friend, abides in each of our bodies as our Helper, our Comforter, our Counselor. He is our constant companion who comes alongside us for everything we need as we walk this life on earth. 

Companion and Comforter

Because Jesus was a constant presence among His disciples for those three years, they were able to sit at His feet to learn, to witness His miracles and ask a million questions. They watched as He poured out love to the outcasts; they relied on Him and imitated all He did. They put their trust in Him and loved Him with their whole hearts.

So as these twelve men sat around the Passover table with their beloved Rabbi, they wrestled deeply with His words of departure, of being with them “only a little longer” (John 13:33). Several of them asked Jesus to clarify what He was saying – first Peter (v.36), then Thomas and Philip (14:5,8) – their questions reflecting their confusion. And their heartache. 

Jesus knew it all – how His words hit them, how sorrow filled their hearts (John 16:6).  

So, in His kindness, He promised them Holy Spirit, the One who would remain with them forever, the One who would never leave them (John 14:16). We see the way Jesus sought to comfort His grieving, confused disciples by declaring the Comforter’s appointed arrival. He implored them, “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful” – because the Comforter is coming (John 14:27 ASV)!

Jesus went on to explain how it was to their advantage that He was going away – because then the Spirit could come (John 16:7). He assured them that He was not leaving them as orphans, telling them, “I don’t leave you the way you’re used to being left—feeling abandoned, bereft. So don’t be upset. Don’t be distraught” (John 14:18,27 MSG). Rather, He was leaving them with His peace (v.27). And sending them a perpetual companion, the Comforter and Friend who would “stick closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18:24).  

Helper and Counselor

The sacred conversations John captured from that night of the Last Supper aid our understanding of Jesus’ heart and the Father’s plan. They also unlock some of the mystery about who Holy Spirit is. We can read Jesus’ words to His frightened, confused circle of friends and recognize that what He says is our truth to cling to, as well. 

This Paraclete is also sent to us; He is here as the One called to draw near to us as our Helper, summoned to dwell within each of us as the One who aids us throughout our lives on earth.¹

Just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit has come into the world in place of our flesh-and-blood Savior to help us learn all we need about the Father, to help us remember all that Jesus taught (John 14:26).¹ Jesus described the Friend He sent to be with us forever as “the Spirit of Truth,” the One who confirms to us everything there is to know about Him (John 15:26 MSG). Holy Spirit helps us by testifying to us the truth of who Jesus is and bearing witness to all that He has accomplished. He teaches and reminds. He counsels.

Jesus is the prophesied “Wonderful Counselor,” the One who embodies divine wisdom; He is the Way and the Life…and the Truth (Isaiah 9:6; John 14:6) – while our Friend, the Spirit of Truth, is the One sent to help us navigate such wisdom. He guides and counsels us into all of Jesus’ truths by speaking to us all that He hears from the Father (John 16:13-15). He helps us make sense out of all that Jesus says and does (v.13 MSG).

Over and over we see how Jesus leaned into the community from which He was sent – the Trinity. He relied on Holy Spirit’s power as He ministered in the world; He depended on the wisdom and plans of the Father; He trusted the “Father of compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:3). And He sought to pass all of this along to His followers by sending the Spirit to serve as Friend, Comforter, Helper, and Counselor.

Receiving the Help We Need

We’ve spent a chunk of our summer series digging into Scripture in order to understand one of the greatest mysteries of our faith, Holy Spirit. It has helped greatly to grab hold of the metaphors and images the biblical authors use for Him – dove, breath, wind, fire, river. Each of these represents this holy Being’s nature and demonstrates some of what He does.

Now we move into unpacking what Jesus and the New Testament writers say about Holy Spirit’s personhood and purposes as He dwells in and among followers of Jesus. One week in, and we already recognize how biblical truths often confront our own assumptions, doubts, and fears – and, uncover our deepest needs.

For example. As I prepared for this particular post, I carried within myself a heaviness that I hadn’t taken time to untangle. But as I got before the Lord, seeking wisdom and direction, Holy Spirit began poking at my heart. At first, I ignored it, sticking to my plan of asking for help with my writing. It didn’t take long, though, before the tears began to flow and my questions shifted. My mind finally settled. And I suddenly had an understanding of my need for actual comfort. 

I was sad. I had just spent a week with my family, all of whom live days away, and I missed them terribly. 

So instead of getting a download about this post, my Friend came alongside me. The Helper nudged me toward naming what I was actually carrying. The Comforter poured out God’s grace and peace as I released all the tension and pent-up sorrow. The Counselor spoke truth over my heart and mind so that I could embrace my grief while also allowing Holy Spirit to help me carry it so that it wouldn’t become a barrier between Him and me.

Only God can give us what we are asking for by showing us what we actually need. In this case, what I needed eventually led me to what I had originally sought – wisdom for this post. But, first, I allowed myself to be ministered to by the Friend Jesus has given me.

And isn’t that why we’re here? To learn. And to grow. To understand. And to experience.

My friend, Jesus sees you. He knows what you actually, deeply need, so I’m praying that in this moment you’ll pause and give Him all your attention. That you’ll worship Him and listen for Him. That you’ll receive all that He has for you – because you trust that with Holy Spirit in you, you’ll be led well. You’ll be comforted with peace and counseled with truth. You’ll be helped by the only One who can truly do so. And you’ll never, ever have to walk this earth alone because you have been given the Paraclete, the One who will forever be at your side ready to give you what you need.

This week we are praying with the lyrics from Pat Barrett’s song, “Hymn of the Holy Spirit.”² Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, guide my vision
Help me see the way You see
Always Jesus, ever Jesus
Christ in all is Christ in me

Holy Spirit, guide my speaking
Words of grace in truth abound
Let my lips be filled with stories
Of the mercy that I’ve found

Holy Spirit, guide my hearing
Wake my ears to words You speak
In the thunder and the stillness
Let Your voice be clear in me

Holy Spirit, lead me onward
Walking through the great unknown
Trusting, leaning, holding, clinging
Till the day You lead me home

You’re the light
You’re my path
You’re the shepherd of my soul
All I am
All I have
Holy Spirit, lead me on

In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

[Please remember that throughout this series, we want to move through information gathering to Holy Spirit experiencing. As such, I will be adding an ‘experience’ of Holy Spirit each week in our “Rhythms” section below. I hope you’ll jump down there to see how you might stretch yourself in the way of experiencing more of the Spirit in your life. You can trust I’m doing the same!!]

Resources: I love sharing with you the books, podcasts, articles, and anything else that has inspired, encouraged, or taught me. These are humble offerings with no expectations.

• 1 – Biblehub for paraklétos, aka: paraclete.
• 2 – This week’s prayer comes from Pat Barrett’s song, “Hymn of the Holy Spirit,” a modern hymn that holds so much of what we’ve been learning about Holy Spirit – and how we’re meant to learn to live this life with Him. It’s never enough to know about Holy Spirit; He has been given to us so that we might live like Jesus in a world that desperately needs Him. As usual, this song can also be found on our Holy Spirit Playlist on Spotify.
• Many of you have found me on Substack. Thank you so much! And, if you’d like to listen to (rather than read) these weekly posts, you can do so on Substack. It’s easy to see and use the audio bar across the top of each post. While you’re on Substack, check out the ministry I’m blessed to be part of, the Devoted Collective.
• My monthly newsletter, The Abiding Life, goes to email inboxes the first week of each month to those who have subscribed on my website. I also post them on Substack. My most recent edition can be found there, and you can subscribe for future newsletters on Substack, here.

Rhythms: As my newsletter’s title infers, we seek to develop an abiding life in this space — a place where we can get informed but also be transformed as we learn to abide in God’s presence throughout our days. I like to think that developing rhythms is one way to aid us in our desire to become more Christlike.

• The rhythm we’ll employ for our summer Holy Spirit series falls in the category of a weekly experience. This week I’m not sure what to call our ‘experience’ except to say that the practice of simply getting before the Lord is powerfully simple and life-changing. Maybe ‘getting before the Lord’ looks like curling up in a cozy chair in a quiet corner. Or maybe it looks like getting as low as humanly possible before our Lord, head bowed, body postured in humility. Or maybe it looks like sitting at a quiet desk with a pen and journal. In other words, ‘getting before the Lord’ will look differently for each of us, but the heart behind it is to position ourselves in front of Him without agenda, without lists — rather, we restfully and trustingly invite Holy Spirit to lead us into God’s wisdom, revealing to us whatever truth or comfort we need. XOXO

• We’re all called to share the truth about who Jesus is. One way you can do that is by sharing this site and telling others your own stories of faith experiences. May we use our whole selves to tell others about our holy God!!

Featured Photo is called “Transcendent and True” and is a stained glass window in the St. Vincent Parish in Washington.
“All the Bits and Pieces” Photo by Zrng N Gharib on Unsplash.
^These are affiliate links, with which this ministry earns a wee little bit. XOXO