The Comforter

“Last evening, Mary and I watched Graham, our one­year­old grandson. The final hour of Graham’s day was filled with laughter, songs, prayer, and squeezes from Emmie and Pops.

As bedtime approached, Graham looked for his prized sleeping companion, his blanket. Once discovered, he buried his head in the soft material and slipped his thumb in his mouth. He was ready.

“This process makes bedtime easy, but it’s not without risk. What if the blanket is in the laundry or heaven forbid... lost?!

“I get the sense that the New Testament disciples were a bit like Graham. During their journey with Jesus they remained confident as long as He was within reach. Whether taking on religious leaders of the day, an uncontrollable evil spirit, or a dinner party where someone had forgotten to call a caterer... Jesus was the solution, the comfort, the blanket.

“This fact was not lost on Jesus. Near the end of His earthly ministry He made a promise that a comforter, The Comforter, would come once He was gone. And in the second chapter of Acts, Jesus made good on His promise.

“If Jesus was “God with us,” then the Holy Spirit was and is “God in us.”

“Jesus’ ascension ushered in the power, comfort, and presence of the Holy Spirit. The “blanket” is not just in Israel any more.

“He’s in a three ­bedroom home where Graham Wolgemuth lives.

He’s in a crowded urban neighborhood where families are shattered.

He’s in an orphanage in Ethiopia.

He’s evident in Iran, in Afghanistan, in South Korea.

He’s at work in Nepal, in India, in Venezuela.

He’s anywhere and everywhere we need Him to be, drawing us to Himself—assuring, comforting, inspiring, and empowering us.

“Jesus promised that He would not leave us as orphans. Our comfort would be with us. Always.