By Thomas Miller
It was the first time I would be away from her since we married. Having been a newlywed for only four months, I didn’t like spending a second away from my beautiful wife. Even while at work, I’d anticipate the moment when we could be together again. And now, here I was getting ready to be apart from her for ten days! In another country! On the other side of the world!
We said our extended goodbyes at the airport…and then a few more goodbyes mixed with tears. As I boarded my first of many flights, I yearned to have my wife with me. Compounding my sadness was the fact I was traveling alone to a place I’d never been. In fact, I had never been overseas.
After flying for what seemed like an eternity, I finally reached my destination of Baroda, India. Stepping off the airplane, I was immediately greeted by unfamiliar sights, sounds, and smells. I collected my luggage and boarded a shuttle van to the missionary’s house where I’d be staying.
Looking out the window of the van, I couldn’t believe the sights, sounds, and smells I found myself surrounded by—motorized rickshaws swerving through the traffic, cows and bulls roaming the streets and sidewalks, women dressed in saris carrying baskets on their heads, kids playing up and down the streets. I felt completely overwhelmed. Here I was in a foreign land, immersed in a culture that held very little semblance to what I knew. And on top of it all, I felt alone. I was alone.
Once I reached the missionary’s home and he showed me to my room, I closed the door and sat down on my bed. Sitting there alone, tears started forming in my eyes. I wasn’t sure I really wanted to be there. Although I’d felt God calling me to come to India, I now second-guessed myself, wondering if I’d be able to make it the full ten days. I missed my wife more than words could describe.
After spending several moments trying to gather my emotions, I decided to begin unpacking. When I opened my suitcase, I noticed several cards in envelopes resting on top of my clothes. On each envelope, in my wife’s handwriting, was written a different day: “Day 1,” “Day 2,” “Day 3,” all the way to “Day 10.” My wife had written a different card for each of the days I was away so that I’d get a little taste of home every day. All of a sudden, my time away became easier. The highlight of my day was waking up, opening another card, and reading the words from the love of my life.
The night before He was crucified, Jesus told His disciples—the people He was closest to—that He would have to go away soon. When the disciples heard this, they were distraught at the thought of being separated from their Master—the one they loved. But Jesus comforted them by letting them know He wasn’t going to leave them alone; He promised to send a Helper—a Comforter—to guide them and always be with them.
Jesus said, “I have many more things to say to you, but they are too much for you now. But when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you into all truth. He will not speak his own words, but he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come. The Spirit of truth will bring glory to me, because he will take what I have to say and tell it to you” (John 16:12–14).
That very same Spirit that Jesus promised to send to His disciples is with you as well! The apostle Paul said that “when you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put his special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that he had promised. That Holy Spirit is the guarantee that we will receive what God promised” (Ephesians 1:13–14).
In other words, when you received Jesus as your Savior, you became His bride and He gave you the Holy Spirit as the proof and guarantee that you are His and will be united with Him one day. And every day, while you’re waiting to be with Him once and for all, you have His Spirit as a daily reminder of His love for you.
Like the cards I received, I believe God gave us the Holy Spirit as a kind of “card”…one that directly lets us discover what’s on God’s heart every single day. While we long for the moment when we’ll be united with Him in glory, His Spirit assures us of His love and constantly reminds us of His promise that we’ll get to be with Him forever. And just like my cards conveyed words of love from my wife to me, the Holy Spirit speaks words of love directly from Jesus to you.
Romans 8:26 tells us that “the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.” Since God has given us the ability to pray in the Spirit (1 Corinthians 14), we can pray about those things that are directly from God’s heart. When I pray in the Spirit, I’m reminded that I am God’s, He is mine, and I will see Him face to face someday. It gives me the strength I need today to do all He calls me to do. It gives me the assurance I need to know that the One I’ve put my faith in is caring for me.
There’s nothing to fear. I can trust Him. I am His.
In the times when I’ve doubted God, His goodness, or my hope of eternity with Him, I’m quickly reminded of the hope I have in Him whenever I pray in the Spirit. And when I’m tempted to sin, if I allow God’s Spirit to pray through me, He gives me the strength to stand.
Could you use strength today? Do you feel sad and lonely? Do you need to be reminded of God’s love for you? Do you sometimes question the promise of eternity? Open the card God has given you to remind you of His incredible love for you. Pray in the Spirit, and allow His words of love to give you strength for today and hope for tomorrow.
We know not the matter of the things for which we should pray, neither the object to whom we pray, nor the medium by or through whom we pray; none of these things know we, but by the help and assistance of the Spirit.
~ John Bunyan
Memory Verse
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
