We are Not Orphans (Lent Devotion 2021)

“AND I WILL ASK THE FATHER, AND HE WILL GIVE YOU ANOTHER COUNSELOR TO BE WITH YOU FOREVER – THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH." (JOHN 14:16-18)

It was very hard for the disciples to know that Jesus was leaving them. They were “filled with grief," the writer of John says. For 3 years they had been with him constantly and experienced his ministry. I imagine a complete sense of “being safe” in the presence of Jesus as they rubbed shoulders together in the demands of the ministry.

Reassuring them, Jesus said he was going to send a Counselor to help them. I will not leave you as orphans He said. But He had to go first. “Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you” (John 16:7). He meant that He must die, rise from the dead and then ascend into Heaven. There were lingering questions and confusion in what this all meant. It was such a completely new thought to the disciples. But, they hung onto the words and this promise from Jesus in the days after his crucifixion.

Sure enough, a few days after his resurrection, Jesus appears to His disciples who were in hiding. He stood among them, showed them his hands and side (John 20:20) and said, “Peace be upon you." Then again, “Peace be upon you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you." And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit’ " (John 20: 21-22).

Today, it is this same Spirit who can help us in our time of need. When fear and anxiety overwhelms us and we don’t know how we can begin to pray, He will help us. “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Romans 8:26). When we need guidance and wisdom in our confusion, “the Spirit will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).

I got a frantic message the other day from a woman, “What is the correct way of praying when I need help?” I was able to encourage her to just pray from her heart and reassure her that Jesus knows. And yes, this is also true for you and me. We have the assurance that Jesus hears our prayers because we have the Spirit who helps us.

Let us be reminded, in a new way during this Lenten Season, we have not been abandoned by Jesus. He, in His great love for you and me, sent the Spirit to be our helper in this life’s journey.

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you so much for coming into our world to live and die for us. It is in your dying that made it possible for the Spirit to live within us and among us. Help us to remember that we have a helper when life gets too hard. In Jesus Name, Amen.

Linda Martin (Cree)
Manitoba, Canada