Good morning! Today is Thursday and we are officially half-way through Holy Week as we’ve been walking with Jesus to Resurrection Sunday. I hope these devotions have been encouraging to you and a great reminder that the Lord’s Spirit is with us wherever we go.
This morning, I’d like us to hear a passage from John 14:15-31, “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.”
I don’t know if you’ve ever been with someone who was close to the end of their life, but every moment at the end is treasured. Every spoken syllable is reverent, and nothing is missed. It isn’t the time for small talk or meaningless conversation. Final goodbyes, wishes, proclamations, and advice aren’t flippant whisperings. Jesus knew it was His time, and so He was making the most of those final hours. His words are still important to us…but there’s a problem.
I don’t like asking for help. If you know me, you might know that about me. I don’t like asking for help, and I really like to think that I can handle it…whatever it is. Maybe you’re like me and you don’t like admitting that you can’t do it all and you do need help.
But, being vulnerable enough to admit that we need help is one of the most courageous things we can do. When you’ve found that you’ve reached the end of yourself, the most courageous thing you can do is let the Holy Spirit help you. The Spirit reminds me daily that I do not live in a bubble and I was not created to be alone. He reminds me that I need His people in my life to love me, to encourage me, to help me, to pray for me, and most importantly, I need Him more than anything. I need His help above all, because as much as I’d like to think otherwise, I don’t have enough of anything on my own to do what He has called me to do. My everything isn’t enough without Him to fill in the gaps where I am weak.
Have you ever experienced a time when you were certain the Holy Spirit helped you through that time? Are you experiencing something now that you could use the Helper’s help? I know I am, and I am asking Him to help me. I’m being vulnerable with Him about what I need, and I’m trying to be vulnerable with others about those needs as well. Here’s a passage that helps us understand why that vulnerability, humility, and asking for help is so important, “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
You might feel weak today. You might feel like you absolutely do not have what it takes for whatever today holds. The truth is…you don’t. You are weak, and that’s okay because it’s not a weakness. Our weakness is where Christ is strong. We should almost have a sense of gladness about our weaknesses, knowing that in those weaknesses, Christ will show up in power, and we all need that.
So today, maybe take a moment and think about all the areas you feel weak in your life right now. Count them up, make a mental list. And then, imagine how the power of the Spirit might be working in those weaknesses to do something amazing in His strength! Doesn’t that bring a smile to your face? Then, I want you to ask for His help, ask Him to do something in your weakness, ask Him to help you go through the challenging things, ask Him to strengthen you with His strength, and to remind you of the hope you have in Him.