Holy Spirit, My Help

Scripture: John 16:7

He Goes With Us

A while back I had the opportunity to attend the Colour Conference in Sydney, Australia. I remember that in those days God spoke to my life in a fresh and powerful way. In particular, there is one memory that I would like to tell you about.

One of those nights, our Pastor, Bobbie, gave us a moment to just be quiet in the presence of God to let the Holy Spirit speak to us. It was a really powerful time. I remember that I got lost in the presence of the Lord and started writing notes which inspired the title of this devotional.

I felt that the Lord was telling me that the Holy Spirit goes with us, that together with Him we can change our life and get through our situation.

In John 16:7, we see that Jesus, when He was about to go to the Cross, told His disciples that it would be better for Him to go away, so that the Holy Spirit could come.

The Holy Spirit comes into our lives as the answer to Jesus’ promise to be with us. He is to be our advocate, our comforter, our consoler, our encourager, our counselor, our helper; He is called to be at the side of each one of us.

We may often feel that we are alone, that we are hopeless, that we have nowhere to look for help, but in those moments we need to remember that the Holy Spirit is our helper. Jesus had to leave so that he could come and fulfill the promise to be our comforter. No matter where we are or where we go, He goes with us.

How does the Holy Spirit show up in your life? I encourage you to ask Him to be your companion and strength during this time.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, be my companion and comfort in these days of difficulty. Fill me with joy and peace, the peace that only you can give me that is beyond understanding. Amen.

Scriptures: Romans 8:11, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

We Can Move Forward

That night I believe God wanted to remind me that with the Holy Spirit I could move forward.

Today I can assure you that together with Him we can accomplish things in our lives, that which God has called us to do. But we also have responsibility on our part. While it is up to Him to do, it is up to us to believe and trust Him, to be willing to cry out, to pray, to ask, and to wait.

The Holy Spirit wants to partner with us and help us in the process of achieving all that God has planned.

Maybe you are facing a difficult situation today. Please know that if you let the Holy Spirit help you and guide you, the enemy will not be able to defeat you. You have the Spirit of God who is the guarantee of His promises. One version of the second letter to the Corinthians says that we are “stamped with the seal of the Holy Spirit”, and that shows that we belong to Him.

Faced with the situation you are going through today, rest in the certainty that you are not fighting alone, that you can move forward and go through difficult situations, because the Holy Spirit is with you.

Do you remember a situation in which the Holy Spirit helped you to move forward?

Prayer: Dear Spirit of God, help me through this difficult situation and guide me to where I can walk to please You. I thank You for Your company and for being my guarantee of God’s promises. Amen.

Scriptures: Psalms 62:5, Romans 15:13

We Can Live a Life of Hope

Living with hope does not mean just waiting for something we want to happen, because the hope that God gives us is more powerful than that. Hope in God expresses confidence and security to look forward with broad expectations with the certainty that something good is going to happen, no matter what it is. We can declare this hope in our lives today.

I remember some years ago when we moved from Australia to Argentina, I watched my children struggle with the fact that they did not know how to speak Spanish. They didn’t want to go through this situation. They didn’t want to go to school because they didn’t understand the words their teachers and classmates were saying to them. In those moments, I prayed and asked God for help to change my children’s situation. Then, when I realized what I was doing, I decided to take another position.

To do this, I had to redirect my thoughts and change the words I spoke about the situation. I had to hold on to the hope of knowing that the Lord is in control of our lives when we offer them to Him.

The hope of the Lord changes us from the inside out. It changes the way we see things and how we speak. The truth is that going through this situation led me to need the help of the Holy Spirit, for Him to guide me and give me the right words to encourage my children. The Holy Spirit is with us every moment, to give us hope.

The power of the Holy Spirit, the hope that the Lord gives us, protects our joy and our peace, and thus gives us courage to keep going. Let us make the decision to live a life of hope, no matter what situation we are going through.

Do you have hope today?

Prayer: God, in You alone my soul finds rest; from You comes my hope. Fill me with all joy and peace. I believe in You. Make me overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Scriptures: Mark 4:35-41, Isaiah 43:2

You Won’t Sink in the Midst of the Storm

What are the storms you are facing in your life today?

In Mark 4 we can see that Jesus, when he finishes preaching to the people and performing miracles, gets into a boat and lies down in the stern and asks the disciples to cross to the other side of the lake. But as they were sailing, suddenly, a great storm arose and they began to fight for their lives because the boat was about to sink. Meanwhile, the passage tells us that Jesus was still sleeping. Only when He awoke, got up and spoke to the storm did it calm down.

Perhaps today you are going through a storm. You are about to sink because the winds and the waves are very big. Perhaps you do not see a way out. I want to encourage you and tell you that the same Jesus who was on the boat with the disciples is the one who is with you today. The Holy Spirit who dwells in you can calm your storm.

He will help you and give you strength. He will be with you. Do not allow a situation to make you doubt the presence of God. Storms will come, but as long as we believe and know that the Holy Spirit is present with us, we will not sink.

Isaiah 43 says that when we go through deep waters, He will be with us; when we go through the rivers of difficulty, we will not drown; when we go through the fire of oppression, we will not be burned. 

Do not be afraid of the storms you are facing, for our God is great. Yes, He is able to calm your storm, even if the situation tells you otherwise. He is with you and you will not sink, for He is good.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, strengthen me in the midst of the storm and in the midst of the fiery trials. Embrace me so that I cannot doubt for a moment that God sustains me. Amen.

Scriptures: Proverbs 18:21, Psalms 19:14, Mark 11:22-23

You Will Be Able to Speak Life

Today I would like to ask you what you are reaping with the words you speak? Do your words speak life or do they speak death? Do your words bring joy or do they bring despair? Do your words bring doubt? Do you speak peace or are you speaking worry? Do you speak blessing or curse? What are you saying today about your life, about the lives of others, about your circumstances?

“May the words in my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NIV

How amazing it would be if this were our confession regardless of the season we are in. May our life move in the direction of our words, that with them we give life to everything of which we speak.

This is powerful, because many things in our life often look dry or dead. Because we are human beings, we do really well focusing on the problems. Today I want to encourage you to start speaking life with the help of the Holy Spirit. He will help you change your negative words into a confession of life for your marriage,  your finances, your children, about any illness. We need to speak life and stop using words of defeat.

In Mark 11:22-23, Jesus challenges us to speak to the mountain and not about the mountain. The Lord wants to change our situation, but it is up to us to take responsibility and do our part, to speak words of hope in God and His truth. It is up to us to declare and that is why it is important that we become aware of what we are talking about in our lives. 

Today we are called to be light in the midst of darkness. We need to show others that we have hope through the Holy Spirit. We will not sink in the midst of the storm. No matter what place we are in, we will be able to speak in a hopeful way to our situation.

Prayer: Lord, You are my rock and my redeemer. May my words and my thoughts be acceptable to You. Bring life to my tongue that I may speak with words of faith and love, with grace and hope.