But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes He will guide you into all truth.” ~John 16:13
What a beautiful promise. The Spirit has come so we get to take full advantage of this benefit from the Father. My husband taught me a valuable lesson years ago when our girls were in middle school. They would ask advice and we would give it to them. They would tell us about a situation at school or with a friend and we would say, “Well, you should…” and we would give them instructions on how to handle it.
All of a sudden, that began to change. The girls would come seeking advice about their issues, problems, questions about friends, hurts and disappointments. Instead of rattling off his normal wisdom about what to do, my husband began to say to the girls, “What is the Lord saying to you about that?“ Sometimes the answer would be something like, “I think He’s telling me to forgive her.” And sometimes the answer would be, “I don’t know.” My husband would say, “Find out.” He encouraged them to ask God or find out in His Word, having confidence that God would show them what to do. My husband realized that it was time for our daughters to understand that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, lives inside them. He recognized that it would be important to teach them early in life to hear God’s voice.
God gives us our children to shape and mold and influence. We are the ones they come to with their questions, their concerns, their problems, their hurt feelings and with their broken hearts. We talk to them, pray with them, instruct them in the Word and give them godly advice, but we cannot be their primary guide forever.
A time comes when our precious ones need to start hearing the voice and direction of God themselves. Although we will never stop giving them our loving advice, God needs to begin to be the dominant voice that leads and directs them. They will not always get it right, but the Holy Spirit will also be what God promised – “A Counselor”. He will advise them and prick their hearts when they are about to fall. And, if they do fall, He will lift them up and be “the Comforter”, another attribute of His character promised to us. I’m so thankful that I can release my children to God, pray for them and know that the Holy Spirit, who knows the mind of God and intercedes on their behalf in accordance with the will of God (Romans 8:27), can lead them and speak to them much better than I ever could.
~ Kristine Morgan
The Pastor’s Wife
