John 16:12–15 (ESV)
The Work of the Holy Spirit
12“I
still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he
will declare to you the things that are to come. 14He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is
mine and declare it to you.
I just got back from Amarillo, TX for a quick vacation. Going there, I plugged in the information into the GPS. We
entered the Holiday Inn information where we were staying. The GPS was great. It guided us to Dallas, thru Dallas, and all the way to Amarillo. Over 540 miles, it gave great guidance. Finally, it said “You have arrived at
your destination.” The only problem was there was no Holiday Inn. Several other hotels were there, but not Holiday Inn. I had been guided by a guide that missed the mark. The Holy Spirit is the fulfilled promise of Jesus, that
he will send you the Helper, who will guide you into all truth. GPS is NOT the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God, not man made.
Christ comforts the
disciples by promising to send them the Helper (the Holy Spirit), who will guide them into a deeper understanding of Christ’s Word. Mistakenly, we sometimes think that Jesus’ physical absence places us at a disadvantage. In fact, Jesus is present
with us through the witness of the Spirit, who works among us through God’s Word and Sacraments.
I pray: O Lord, let the Holy Spirit guide
me into all the truth. Help me to stay on path. You are the promised one from Jesus who will lead us to our new home in heaven. Amen.