How the Holy Spirit helps in moments of trouble and confusion
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead; the one who bears witness of the Father and Jesus Christ. He is the one who brings us to God. He convicts and converts us and helps us to run our Christian race. He guides us in our decisions and protects us from physical and spiritual dangers. Jesus called Him our comforter and He has lived up to His name. In moments of trouble and confusion he stands by us and tells us what to do. He is our helper in times of trouble.
“And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:16). Jesus knew the comforting role of the Holy Spirit and made Him known to His disciples as well. We today also need the Holy Spirit just as the original disciples did.
We are tempted every day. The devil is doing all within his capacity to pull us down. It is obvious that without the help and leading of the Holy Spirit, no Christian will survive the schemes of the devil. Jesus Himself relied on the Spirit in times of temptation. “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Mathew 4:1).
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Have we wondered why Jesus never wanted His disciples to venture into the mission fields without receiving the Holy Ghost? “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Missionaries can only survive the troubles and attacks in the mission fields by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In one of our mission trips, the Spirit inspired me to take an alternative route from the one we planned. The following day we heard the news that some passengers were kidnapped and killed by bandits along the exact same route.
As Christians, we face obstacles and challenges daily. Sometimes we do not know how to go about facing them. Many times, we do not know what to say because we are overwhelmed by what is happening around us. I have discovered that absolute reliance on the Holy Spirit in a moment of confusion and trouble is the only way of navigating through challenging times. “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given to you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit” (Mark 13:11).
There was a time that I was arrested for distributing Christian literature in one of the Sharia states in Nigeria. I was harassed and intimidated by the police and instead of being afraid I just opened my mouth and thanked them for arresting me. I said to them, “You have made my day by arresting me, I have longed to be detained for the sake of the Gospel just like my mentor the Apostle Paul.” They looked at me with utter bewilderment and told me to get out of their station because I was mad.
The Holy Spirit is all we need to weather the storms of life. He is always there for us; He is indeed our most reliable friend.
Oscar Amaechina is the president of Afri-Mission and Evangelism Network, Abuja, Nigeria. His calling is to take the gospel to where no one has neither preached nor heard about Jesus. He is the author of the book Mystery Of The Cross Revealed.
