Guaranteed Comfort

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (Joh 14:18 AV)

What a promise for those who know the LORD.  These words were spoken to the eleven as Jesus was preparing to die, resurrect, and ascend.  The comfort He promises is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.  By stating He would come unto the eleven, He equates the Spirit and Himself as one and the same.  The mystery of the Trinity appears again!  Two persons in one person yet remaining two persons.  Glory!  It is the first part of the verse that I wish to think deeply about.  The LORD promises to never leave us without comfort.  Regardless of our struggle, He will always be there to comfort us.  If we do not experience the comfort He promises, the fault lies with us.  If we are saved, the Spirit resides within.  Sin, ignorance, or the lack of faith hinder the comfort He has promised.  It is there.  He will never leave.  He will not leave us without comfort.

Not to overuse an analogy, but the medical dispenser and the bedside of a patient come to mind.  It can be a good thing or a bad thing.  Just ask my wife.  Like every patient, you get stuck with a faulty one from time to time.  The first one my wife had seemed to alarm for no apparent reason and at all times of day and night.  It didn’t matter what the staff did, it alarmed all the time.  In fact, if a visitor would walk the halls, it was not uncommon to hear several of those things alarming.  They alarm so often, that the nursing staff seem to become deaf to them.  This is like the convicting work of the Holy Spirit.  He constantly reminds us of ways in which we could better serve our Father.  Conviction comes at all times of day and night and unless we fix the problem, the alarm goes off more frequently and much louder.  But there is an upside to those dispensers.  I am old enough to remember the day when they became common-use equipment.  Before then, the bags of medicine were metered mechanically.  A little valve was adjusted to increase or decrease the dose.  With the machines, it is all done automatically.  This accomplishes several things.  It limits mistakes and it gives the patient some control over the dosing.  If they think they need more pain medication, they can press a button and receive it.  The thing is, in the absence of the doctor or nurse, the patient is not left without relief.  He or she has it at the tip of the fingers.

We are not alone.  Our suffering does not have to be a one-person experience.  The gift of the Holy Spirit is unique to the New Testament.  Because the sinner has chosen to trust Jesus Christ and only Him for their soul’s salvation, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in the heart, mind, and soul of the convert.  The ever-abiding God is our friend who will walk where we walk.  He will speak to us and comfort us in times of need.  Jesus has promised that He will not leave us without comfort.  This is an absolute promise.  If we are without comfort, the problem lies with us.  We need to pray, search the scriptures, listen to the Holy Spirit, and settle it in our hearts that He knows what He is doing.  The comfort is there.  All we need to do is open our hearts, minds, and souls to it.