Daily devotional · June 24
Never Left as Orphans
“If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you do know Him, for He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
On the night before his death, Jesus tells his friends he is leaving, and then promises another Helper who will be with them forever. He says he will not leave them orphaned. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, does not visit occasionally; he lives with and in believers. This is the promise celebrated at Pentecost: God with us in a new, closer way. Many Christians treat the Spirit as vague or distant, yet Jesus describes him as a companion, a Helper walking beside us. Today, start your morning or evening with a simple invitation: Holy Spirit, be my guide today. Then pay attention through the day to promptings toward kindness, honesty or prayer, and follow one of them. You are not alone in trying to live faithfully, and you never were.
Prayer
Holy Spirit, come and be my guide and companion in everything I do today.