Day 18 - Hate Is Such a Strong Word

Our Counselor the Holy Spirit provides the teaching—and the reminding—of what we need to know and remember. He is our comforter, our advisor, our encourager, and He gives us strength. He guides us in the way we should go.

How good are you at following driving directions? Do you prefer words, a list, or a map? One of the most helpful things for me whenever someone gives me directions is to have a landmark or reference when I’ve gone too far and missed a turn or missed the destination.

So I give directions that way. If someone calls the church office and asks for directions, I give them directions, but always end with “and if you get to Austin Elementary (or the fire station at Spalding and Roberts), you’ve gone too far and need to turn around.” You know…just a heads-up so that they don’t keep driving.

Remember those Beginner Sailing Tips from discoverboating.com? The last one on the list is:

• Practice makes perfect
  Don’t try to teach yourself all the sailing basics. Invest in a good sailing course, research guides and books, and learn from friends with experience.

You can make the application and draw the parallel between this tip and a life with the Holy Spirit. We are being called to give ourselves fully to God, but this journey will not be easy. It requires directions. We need help navigating the obstacles in our path. Jesus references this in John 15:18-16:4. Take a few minutes and read this passage.

John records Jesus giving the disciples a critical heads up. He tells them, “Don’t be surprised when Evil uses you for target practice and hates you. Evil honed its skills using me for a target first.” Evil and Hate are such strong words. But they are the right words to use. Evil hates good. It hates good and wants to vanquish it. Just as in sailing, the forces around us are not always in our favor.

But Christ’s message helps us see the Holy Spirit’s witness as a guide. Verse 26 reads, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, He will testify about me.”

So here is the One who comforts, advises, encourages, and strengthens us, and He is testifying about Jesus. He continues in verse 27, “and you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.” Then Jesus finishes the passage by letting them know He’s telling them so they won’t be surprised or caught off-guard when it happens.

Have you felt the sting of evil?

Did you also feel comforted and strengthened by the Holy Spirit at the same time?