If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you (John 14:15-18).
Jesus was everything to the disciples. He met their every need during His three and a half years of ministry. If they didn’t understand a scripture, they would go to Him and He would explain it to them. Once they needed money to pay taxes and Jesus told Peter to go fishing, and the first fish he caught would have the tax money in its mouth!
When they had trouble ministering healing to an epileptic by, Jesus set him free. When they needed to feed a large crowd, Jesus was there to multiply a little boy’s lunch and feed over five thousand with it. Jesus was everything they needed.
Here in John 14, Jesus is preparing His disciples for His departure to heaven. He wanted them to know that He was not leaving them as orphans. He told them that He would send someone to take His place in their lives. That someone would be everything that He was to them. When He told them that He would send another comforter, it literally reads in the Greek, another comforter of the same kind. Everything Jesus was to them, this person would be to them.
The word helper in verse 15 above is the word parakletos in the Greek. It means one who is called alongside to aid or help. The Latin word for helper means one who comes with strength. The Amplified Bible gives the various shades of meaning this word parakletos contains - Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby.
We actually have it better than the disciples did who walked in Jesus’ presence. The Holy Spirit now resides in us and Jesus promised that He would be to us everything that Jesus was to the disciples. Inside of you today, is wisdom, guidance, strength, ability, and insight.
You’re not an orphan! You’re never alone. Develop your relationship with the Divine personality that lives inside of you. He is sent to replace the physical presence of Jesus in your life. Yield to Him. Court His presence. Open your heart life to Him. Saturate your mind with the Word so that He can communicate with you easily.
The Holy Spirit will give you wisdom on your job. He will show you what to do as a partner in your marriage. He will speak to you as to what you can do to smooth out rough relationships. He will guide you in your friendships. He will help you know how to be a better parent, a better leader, a better husband, a better friend, a better employee, and He will direct you right in the center of the will of God for your life.
Throughout my life I have so appreciated the Helper that God has given me. I can think of so many ways he has helped me over the years. I came to Raleigh 28 years ago because the Helper let me know in prayer that I would go and pastor an already existing church.
While shaving one Monday morning years ago, the Helper told me to go check the oil in my vehicle. When I did, I found oil and water mixed on the dipstick, a sign that a main gasket had burst in the engine. Knowing this saved me a lot of money.
The building and property owned by our church came to us as a result of the Helper letting me know that God had something better than what I was considering. I could go on and on for a long time talking about how this wonderful Helper has transformed my life and circumstances.
He knows us and knows the challenges in our future and has promised to be our Helper and our guide. He will be with you right there today in the rough place. He has wisdom to give us. He is available with Help if we will only yield to Him. He is an ever present help in time of trouble. Expect His help today!