The Guide

However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. – John 16.13

‘I just don’t know what I am going to do.’ How often have we found ourselves in that situation? Maybe some news has some our way. Maybe we are faced with a dilemma we weren’t expecting. Maybe we are facing unexpected bad news that has caught us off guard. Maybe we just don’t know what we are going to do.

It would have been cruel, in my mind at least, if Jesus had just left us behind to do His work and left us on our own to do it. It would have been impossible to remember everything He said. It would have been even 'more impossible' to pass it on faithfully to succeeding generations.

But Jesus didn’t leave us without a guide.

‘When the Spirit of truth is here He will guide you into all truth. He will speak My words. He will show you things to come.’

Almost 2000 years on and the Holy Spirit still continues His guidance ministry. The primary way, and the most reliable way He does so, is as the Author of the Word of God. It is our continual source of knowledge and guidance and of ‘things to come.’ It is unchangeable so we can count on it as even more sure than if we heard the voice of God.

But let us not deny the daily guidance of the Holy Spirit. Psalm 16 tells is that God controls the ‘reins’ of the righteous. As believers we have the Holy Spirit constantly dwelling in us guiding and directing us. We all know the experience. We are wondering what to do about a situation when the Holy Spirit is tugging and pulling at the reins of our hearts to do one thing. It is clear. It is obvious. We know the tugging.

And still we buck against the reins. We have to go our own way. We are like an untamed horse bucking against the control.

And we sin despite the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit came to give us guidance. The problem is not Him, but how we respond.