promises inspire you, invigorate you, and strengthen you for the living of these days? Or do you forget those promises or ignore them, and consequently trudge sluggishly through life, with no zest, no fire, no heart, no excitement, no mission, and no purpose?
One of the problems is that some people do indeed seem to forget God's awesome promises in the Bible. Forgetting—not remembering—can be a real setup for embarrassing and frustrating experiences. And our "forgetfulness" becomes worse as we get older.
Let me tell you what I mean. Have you heard about the couple who discovered a new restaurant? They loved it. It was a great experience. The very next night, some friends dropped by, and as the wife went into the kitchen to prepare the coffee, the husband proceeded to tell the friends about this new restaurant they had found: "The food was sumptuous, the service outstanding, the decor was perfect, and the price was right."
The friends said, "That sounds wonderful. What is the name of the restaurant?"
"Oh my goodness," said the man. "I was afraid you were going to ask me that. I can't remember. I'm getting so forgetful, it's ridiculous. I can't remember anything anymore! Wait a minute," he went on, "I have an idea. What is that beautiful flower that has a long stem and a beautiful blossom, and thorns?"
They suggested, "A rose?"
"That's right," he answered, and, turning toward the kitchen, he shouted, "Hey Rose! Please come here and tell them the name of that restaurant we went to last night!" Now, that's what you call forgetful! And, unfortunately, too many of us have that problem.
Jesus knew full well how forgetful we can be, so again and again he repeated for us one of the greatest promises in the Bible: The gift of the Holy Spirit—the promise of the Holy Spirit!
"Remember now," he said to his disciples (and to us), "I will not leave you alone! I will not desert you or forsake you. I will not leave you desolate. I will be with you always, even to the end of the world. If you will put your faith in me and trust in me, come what may, I will be there for you. You will be clothed with power from on high. The Holy Spirit will come to you. The Holy Spirit will be your strength. The Holy Spirit will do great things for you and through you. The Holy Spirit will see you through" (John 14:15-17 adapted).
If that great promise doesn't excite you or thrill you or encourage you, then you need to check your spiritual pulse or put a spiritual stethoscope to your heart. That's what that powerful passage in John 14 is all about. Jesus is in the upper room with his disciples. The cross looms near. Why, the very next day is Good Friday! Jesus is giving them their final instructions. Scholars refer to this section in John as "The Farewell Discourses" of Jesus. Here in chapters 13, 14, and 15 we see Jesus giving his disciples their marching orders—a series of promises and a series of last-minute reminders.
The gist of these three chapters is capsuled in two verses: "If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth" (John 14:15-17a). What a great promise this is—the Holy Spirit of God to be ever present with us, giving us strength, support, inspiration, and power!
That's the promise I want us to remember, to embrace, to celebrate, and to stand on today—and all the days ahead. God promises to always be with us. That is the good news of our Christian faith. Let me bring this closer to home with three thoughts.
First, God Promises to Be with Us Through the Holy
Spirit to Give Us Comfort
Now, the word comfort literally means "with strength." Those who are comforted are those who are given strength.
Some years ago, a young friend of mine was stricken with leukemia. A bright student, an outstanding musician, a warm and radiant personality, a devoted Christian, a loyal friend—she was all of that and much, much more.
The leukemia was diagnosed two days after Courtney's fifteenth birthday. During the next two years, she and her family made twenty-seven trips to Saint Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis. She was seventeen when she died. When word came that Courtney had died, I went over to see her family. I didn't know what to say. What do you say to parents who have just lost a child? I rang the doorbell.
Courtney's mom answered the door, and before I could say a word, she greeted me: "Oh Jim, I'm so glad you've come. Come on into the kitchen and let's get a cup of coffee and talk about Courtney. She was so wonderful and we have so many precious memories."
We sat and sipped our coffee and reminisced about Courtney. We poured our hearts out right there at the kitchen table. We cried as we remembered the painful moments. We laughed as we remembered her incredible sense of humor through it all—some of the funny things she had said and done. And we prayed when we recalled her amazing faith, her tender love, and her brave spirit!
Finally, when I stood to leave, Courtney's mom took my hand, looked me straight in the eye, and said, "Now, Jim, don't you worry about us. We're going to be all right. This is the toughest thing we have ever been through— no question about that—but God is with us as never before, and he will hold us up, he will see us through. He has given us strength every day throughout this ordeal, and he will give us the strength we need now to go on with life as a tribute to Courtney."
I was so touched by her spiritual poise and confidence, and I realized something: I had gone there to minister to her, and she had ministered to me! As I drove away, her words kept reverberating in my head: "God is with us as never before." Why is that? I thought to myself. Why do we feel the presence of God "as never before" when we are hurting? For people of faith, why does God feel closer when we are in pain? Two reasons came to mind:
1. When we are in trouble, we are more open to God, we tend to tune in more to God, we tend to realize more how very much we need him.
2. Jesus taught us that God is like a loving parent, and loving parents want to be with their children most of all when the children are hurting. They want to be with them and bring help and strength and comfort.
Isn't this a great promise to stand on? Again and again and again in the Scriptures, God promises to be with us through the Holy Spirit, to give us comfort.
Second, God Promises to Be with Us Through the Holy Spirit to Give Us Courage
In a philosophy class at Rice University, the professor told the students to bring blue books for a test next time. On test day, the professor said to the class, "Your test today is to write an essay on the topic, 'What is Courage?' "
The students began to write furiously. All, that is, except one young man. He sat there quietly for five minutes, thinking deeply. He then picked up his pen and wrote the title, "What Is Courage?" Then he wrote down two more words—just two words—and turned in his test, and walked out of the classroom.
Most students took the full hour and filled all the pages of their blue books on the subject of courage. That evening the professor telephoned the young man who had turned in the two-word essay and informed him that he had given him an A+ on the test. He added that he would like to get to know the student better.
I suspect that you are already trying to figure out what those two words were, as I was when I first heard this story. The two words the student wrote in answer to the question, "What is Courage?" were this: THIS IS.
(Thanks to Busher Fanning, Trinity Baptist Church, San Antonio, Texas, for this story.)
You see what he did?
