And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)

Read: Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-15, John 1:19 – 2:25

Relate: As I’ve been reading this, I keep getting stuck on the interchangeability between the Holy Spirit and Jesus in what He is saying. Perhaps interchangeability isn’t quite the right word but I’m not sure what is. Jesus is saying that He must leave so that the Holy Spirit might come. He says the world will not recognize the Holy Spirit but His disciples will because He is already living with them and will later be living in them… But it is Jesus who is living with them. Then He says He won’t abandon the disciples, He will come to them… But it is the Holy Spirit that is coming. There’s definitely a bit of a tri-unity here going on in what Jesus is saying.

React: You know, part of me is a bit jealous of the disciples. What would it have been like to have lived and walked and talked with Jesus in the flesh? What would it have been like to see His miracles firsthand, to watch Him confront the Pharisees, to climb with Him up the mount of transfiguration… it must have been amazing. But their ability with Jesus was tied to a locality. It was limited to an external presence. We have it so much better. For those of us in Christ, we have the Advocate, the Comforter, the Counselor, our Teacher, our Guide, the very Spirit of Jesus living inside of us.

That said, why do so many of us so often live with Him on the sidelines? It is like we have the starting lineup of a championship ball team sitting on the bench while we start all these minor league scrubs. We’ve got programs and strategies, marketing analytics and resources, talent and hard effort in the game while the Teacher, Guide, Comforter, Witness, Advocate, Counselor, Deposit, and Spirit of Truth is sitting there gently nudging us on the sidelines saying, “Let me up to the plate. I’ve got this.” We struggle to move past mediocrity while insisting we keep the superstar on the bench. Now don’t get me wrong, things like programs and strategies do have their place… That place is called the minor leagues.

Respond: 

God, baptize me with the Spirit of Your Power. Help me to get completely out of the way that You might move through me. I am Yours, and that means Your Spirit is living inside me. Let me let Him truly LIVE inside of me. Take the chains of doubt, and order, and control and break them. Get wild and crazy in my life. Let my every breath be lost in You.