“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”

Jesus was about to make the ultimate sacrifice when He said the words of our verse for today. He had been with His disciples for three years, and He had been their helper, teacher, and counsellor during that time. Now that His departure from them is looming up, He promises that He will ask the Father to send them someone else—the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit they would receive on Pentecost Sunday would be their new helper.

The presence of the Holy Spirit within each and every Christian indicates a fundamental difference between Christians and non-Christians. Christians have a supernatural helper within them that non-Christians do not have. Although we may not always sense the presence of the Spirit, the Spirit is always working through us to help us, comfort us, strengthen us, and guide us.

As Christians, then, we have a source of strength and help that allows us to make a real difference in the world. Instead of succumbing to the patterns of this world, instead of simply accepting the world as it is, we can transform the world. The spiritually blind can be led to see; the misguided can be set straight; the downhearted can be encouraged; the sick can be healed. The helper within us empowers us to advance and enhance the kingdom of God on earth in every area of life.

Thus, as the special name for the Holy Spirit in our verse for today implies, the most important aspect of the Spirit’s work within us is that He simply helps us. Who doesn’t need help? Who hasn’t felt that the work was too big, too hard, and too demanding? It is when things are hard that the help of the Holy Spirit becomes most evident. What we thought was impossible suddenly becomes possible. When we thought we would faint, our strength is renewed. When the obstacles were insurmountable, a pathway opens up.

You have something within you that can help you every time. Today, then, rely on the help of the Spirit for the tasks God has called you to do.

By John Huisman, friend of Bible League International