“But when He, the Spirit of truth comes,
He will guide you into all truth;
for He will not speak of His own,
but whatever he hears, he will speak;
and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
~~John 16:13~~
As I read this passage this morning, I was drawn to the word “guide”. Jesus was talking to His disciples, telling them that there would be a day in the near future where the Spirit of truth (the Holy Spirit) would come. You see, the disciples had come to rely on Jesus greatly. He did life with them and the thought that He was going to die, rise again, and then leave them (by ascending to heaven) left them feeling more than a little unsure about the future. But Jesus encouraged them by promising that He would give them “another Advocate to be with them forever – the Spirit of truth…for he lives with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17). So we know that we have been given the Spirit of truth, and that He will guide us into all truth. So let’s dig in and see what all that little word “guide” holds.
The Greek word for “guide” (hodēgeō) means to show the way; literally, to teach and guide; to give guidance, instruction, and/or assistance. That last part of the definition piqued my interest, so I did a little digging.
The dictionary definition of GUIDANCE is – to direct in a way or course; to supervise or influence to a particular end; to superintend the training or instruction. This made me think of my friend and her son. It had been right before the first semester of his senior year was over, and his grades indicated that he wasn’t going to graduate. My friend made an appointment with the school guidance counselor to see what could be done. The counselor configured a course of action, added some additional classes, and then he encouraged her son that he could indeed finish and graduate if he applied himself. Due to the influence and direction of that guidance counselor, my friend’s son graduated! The Holy Spirit does that for us!! He looks at where we are, and then He directs us to the course of action that will help us finish this walk of faith strong! The Spirit provides “guidance”.
INSTRUCTION was second on the list, and it is defined as: a direction calling for compliance; order; the action of teaching. The first thing that came to mind when I thought of instructions was how, when I get something new, whether a piece of furniture needing assembled or a new game I have yet to play, I rely on the instructions. Ok, time to tattle on myself. There mayyyyyyy have been a time or two when I thought I didn’t need the instructions, and I put all the pieces and parts together where I thought they belonged. Needless to say, what I ended up building did not look like the piece of furniture on the box. Oy…
The final aspect on the list describing “guide” is ASSISTANCE. Webster defines assistance: to give support or aid; help supplied. Pause to ponder that for a minute. What comes to my mind when I think of “support” is how, when I was a little girl, I would go stay with my Grammy for a week in the summer. Monday’s were “worsh days”. We went to the cellar and put the laundry through the wringer “worsher” and then went out in the yard to hang the clean laundry on the line. If it hadn’t been for the clothesline props, the weight of the wet laundry would have weighed down the line, allowing the clean clothes to drag on the ground. The Spirit of truth props us up, giving us support when life gets heavy.
When I think of “aid”, what comes to mind is my grandson’s aid at school. You see, my grandson has Down Syndrome, and he has had the same aid walk with him through his school days since he entered kindergarten, and this fall he is starting high school (don’t even get me started on how fast time flies). His aid is wonderful. My grandson leans on her, and with her help and her assistance, he has been able to learn and flourish. The Spirit of truth is our “aid” through this life, helping us to learn and to flourish and to grow to be more and more like Jesus.
I find myself being ever so grateful to God for the gift of His Spirit. God has laid out a plan for us to follow in this life, but He hasn’t left us alone to accomplish it. He has given us the Spirit of truth for guidance, for instruction, for assistance. Oh how I love Him!!