Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:32)
During morning prayer today, the Spirit of God reminded me of something important. A simple truth that may seem obvious to us who believe, but which we often easily slip away from, even though that truth is crucial for our relationship with God.
When the Holy Spirit reminds us, or teaches us something, he reveals it to us in our spirit. It is often said that “the Word becomes alive” and that is what the Spirit of God does, he breathes life into the Word of God so that human ideas, unbelief, doubt and religious fog blow away, and faith in God´s word, which is the truth, remains.
What was that simple truth that the Spirit of God revealed to me?
I saw in my heart that Jesus is my best friend! A friend I can trust through thick and thin, because his love is perfect and he never fails. And even though it may be a self-evident truth if you are a believer, it is not enough to know it intellectually, to sing it, to read it, to hear it. But when the Holy Spirit enlightens God´s word in our spirit, with the revelation that only God can give, and that knowledge is allowed to illuminate every corner of our heart – then fear flees and faith grows. Because when we truly believe what is actually true, that Jesus – to whom the Father gave all authority in heaven and on earth – is our best friend, then we always want to spend time with him!
Everyday life with God becomes exciting and dynamic when we understand that God is actually ”here” with us – always, and for us – always;
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8: 31)
If the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, if the Creator of Heaven and Earth stands on my side every day through everything – what is there to be afraid of? Jesus Christ is the one with whom you can be yourself completely, because he still sees everything in you and knows everything about you – and loves you!
And he always has time for us, Jesus, your and my best friend. We do not need to make an appointment, not wait for our turn, not be afraid of being rejected. He always hears us, never loses patience, and his love never fails.
You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before and you lay your hand upon me. (Psalms 139)
Isn’t this wonderful! It´s so wonderful that it is almost impossible to take in – in fact, for our human souls and minds, influenced by the world’s way of thinking, it is impossible to comprehend God´s love and goodness – we need to have the Word of God revealed to us.
The Holy Spirit, God’s own Spirit who lives in our innermost being, is the one who reveals God’s Word to us, he helps us, teaches us and leads us into the whole truth – our Helper sent by our Father.
In the book of Ephesians, Paul prays a prayer that we can echo and pray over our lives:
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. (Eph. 1:17–19).