The Comforter Has Come!

Daily writing prompt

What strategies do you use to increase comfort in your daily life?

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So, how do I increase comfort in my daily life? Well, I try to have a daily nap around lunchtime and wind down in the evening by reading and listening to music. And I find walking quite relaxing too. And I especially find comfort in reflecting on what I can remember from the past, while I listen to music of each year of my life. And of course, there’s the deeper comfort I receive from the Holy Spirit. But to receive that, I need to reach out to him. It’s all too easy to get distracted and put God out of the picture.

Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a paraclete, which is sometimes translated as comforter. Modern translations use various words. The NIV translates it as advocate:

John 14:16
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.”

But however you translate it, it basically means that God’s Spirit is with you in a similar way to how Jesus was with the disciples. We can think of him as follows:

• An Advocate who intercedes for believers – I see that as the Holy Spirit drawing us to pray and translating our prayers to the father even when they might not be precisely worded.
  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. (Rom 8:26)
• A Teacher who reminds us of Christ’s words (John 14:26) – In a primary sense, he inspired the Apostles, and those close to them, to write the New Testament. And for all those who read it, he helps us to understand it and apply it to our lives.
• A Witness who testifies about Jesus (John 15:26) – He is with us as we spread the gospel, working on the minds and hearts of all those who will accept it.
• A Convicter of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8) – He makes us aware that we are sinners, what it takes to be righteous and the consequences of rejecting the only hope we have of salvation – our Lord Jesus Christ.

Basically, it means that we are aware of the presence of God (Father, Son, and Spirit), despite our tendency to put God out of the picture.

The Comforter has come! The Comforter has come!
The Holy Ghost from heav'n, the Father's promise giv'n!
O spread the tidings 'round, wherever man is found:
The Comforter has come!

And having him with me makes me want to sing! I think of Enya’s Christmas 1991 hit, How Can I Keep from Singing. I didn’t realize at the time that that’s actually an old hymn, written by an American Baptist, back in the 19th Century. Here are a few modern versions. I think the last one is a different hymn, but perhaps inspired by the title.

How Can I Keep from Singing?

While though the tempest loudly roars,
I hear the truth, it liveth.
And though the darkness 'round me close,
Songs in the night it giveth.

No storm can shake my inmost calm
While to that refuge, clinging
Since Christ is Lord of heaven and earth
How can I keep from singing?

How can I keep from singing Your praise?
How can I ever say enough?
How amazing is Your love
How can I keep from shouting Your name?
I know I am loved by the King
And it makes my heart wanna sing

What’s all this stuff about the Holy Spirit again?

I heard a story about someone explaining the trinity to someone with English as a second language. His reply was “The Father I understand, the Son, I understand, but the bird I don’t understand 😀.

Well, the Holy Spirit is not a bird. A dove is sometimes used as a symbol of the Spirit because John the Baptist said that he saw the Spirit descending on Jesus like a dove (Matthew 3:16). Perhaps wind would be a better symbol, but you can’t see that.

It might seem complicated if you don’t have a Christian background. I once met a nice Jewish man who didn’t like the idea of the trinity. He said God is one, and Christians believe that too, but we believe that God is plural, with three persons in one being. If I were inventing a God, I would just have one person. That keeps everything simple. But I need to deal with the God who is there, not a god of my imagination.

When I first learned about atoms, I was a bit disappointed to hear about protons, neutrons and electrons, and particle physics is even much more complicated than that. Why should it surprise us if God isn’t simple?

Here are three videos I found that briefly explain the Holy Spirit and the Trinity in relatively simple terms, maybe even too simple, but it’s a good starting point.

For a deeper understanding, I would recommend Wayne Grudem’s lectures: Chapter 14 covers the Trinity and chapter 30 covers the Holy Spirit.

And then you have many hymns and worship songs about the Holy Spirit. I often use YouTube to find the hymns and hymnary or Google to find the lyrics, if I don’t already have them in one of my hymn books. Here are 50 songs about the Holy Spirit. The last few are modern worship songs.

• AWAY with our fears, our troubles and tears
• All Over the World the Spirit Is Moving
• BREATHE on me, Breath of God
• Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid
• COME down, O Love divine,
• COME, Holy Ghost, all-quickening fire,
• COME, gracious Spirit, heavenly dove,
• COME Holy Spirit, come, let Thy bright beams arise;
• COME, Thou everlasting Spirit,
• COME, Holy Ghost, our hearts inspire,
• COME, Holy Spirit, God and Lord!
• COME, Holy Spirit, like a dove descending,
• FATHER of everlasting grace,
• FOR Your gift of God the Spirit,
• Gracious Spirit, Dwell With Me
• GRACIOUS Spirit, dove divine,
• HOLY Ghost, dispel our sadness,
• Holy Spirit, Come Confirm Us
• Holy Spirit, Hear Us
• Holy Spirit, Truth Divine
• Holy Spirit, We Welcome You
• LORD God the Holy Ghost,
• O BREATH of God, breathe on us now,
• O Breath of Life, Come Sweeping Through Us
• OUR blest Redeemer, ere He breathed
• O Holy Spirit, Enter In
• O Holy Spirit, Lord of Grace
• O SPIRIT of the living God,
• O Thou Who Camest from Above
• SPIRIT divine, attend our prayers,
• SPIRIT of faith, come down,
• SPIRIT of God, descend upon my heart
• Spirit of God, Unseen as the Wind
• Spirit of God, Who Dwells Within My Heart
• Spirit of Holiness, Descend
• Holy Spirit, Ever Dwelling
• Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me
• Every Time I Feel the Spirit – an older song by Nat King Cole
• Refiner’s Fire – Brian Doerksen (1990)
• Spirit Touch Your Church – Kent Henry (1990s)
• Come Holy Spirit, Fall Afresh on Me – Jim Cowan (1990s)
• Fresh Wind – Hillsong Worship (2021)
• Come Holy Spirit – Vertical Worship (2020s)
• Come Holy Spirit (You Are Welcome Here) – Paul Baloche (2000s)
• Breath of God – Keith & Kristyn Getty (2020s)
• Spirit Break Out – Worship Central (2011)
• Breathe on Us – Kari Jobe (2014)
• Holy Spirit Come – Patrick Mayberry (2022)
• Creator Spirit – Graham Kendrik (2020)