My friend Laura lost her 17-year-old son in a car accident 14 years ago. At the funeral, as she greeted people, I noticed she looked exhausted, so I asked if she needed me to step in.
Her response has stayed with me. She replied, “Thank you, Tamara, but this is good for me. With each hug, it feels as if they are taking some of my grief with them.”
These words paint a perfect picture of Galatians 6:2, which tells us to carry each other’s burdens. We do this through the Holy Spirit’s power. As He helps us, we gain the strength and insight to help others.
In John 16:7, Jesus calls the Holy Spirit our helper. The word used in Greek is parakletos, which means “counselor, intercessor, and comforter.” This definition offers three ways the Holy Spirit helps us so that we can help each other.
The first way is by acting as our counselor, guiding us into all truth. We see this in the Samaritan woman’s story in John 4. Scripture tells us Jesus reached out to this woman, compassionately guiding her from confusion to truth. Then, verse 39 tells us, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him [Jesus] because of the woman’s testimony.”
Wherever you are today, the Holy Spirit knows how to counsel you. As you allow His truth to transform your life, it will stand as a beautiful testimony to all!
The second way the Holy Spirit helps us is being our intercessor and intervening on our behalf. A perfect example of this is the story of Mary, Jesus’ mother. She had a difficult task—to carry and birth God’s son, whom she conceived as a virgin. Then, she had to watch as He was terribly persecuted and ultimately killed.
One way the Holy Spirit intervened for her was by sending her a like-minded, like-hearted friend—her cousin, Elizabeth. Because Elizabeth had experienced the Holy Spirit’s intercession in her own life, she could intervene for Mary. How has the Holy Spirit intervened in your life? How can you do the same for someone else?
Third, the Holy Spirit is our comforter. In Luke 7, we read about a widow in the town of Nain whose son had just died. Jesus ventured out of His way to find her and perform a miracle for her. My favorite part of this story is the fact that Scripture doesn’t name the widow, and the town she lives in appears insignificant. But Jesus knew where she lived. He found and comforted her, trusting her to also comfort others.
Friends, the Holy Spirit is the perfect comforter. He will find you when you feel most forgotten and comfort you in the way only He can. Then, He will empower you to comfort those around you.
Life is so much better when it’s lived in community. So let’s be the Church, helping each other as the Holy Spirit helps us!
