For spring break, my wife and I decided to tackle some gardening projects. But we’re not experts; we don’t have green thumbs. We just have a desire to garden and grow. And so we learn. We talk to people. We watch youtube videos and listen to podcasts. And sometimes, we have good results from our garden. But not always good results.
Recently, our gardening was attempting to create some support posts for our peach tree. This involved working with wood, and we are also not experts there. We researched; we talked with others; we talked it through ourselves. We thought we could do it. Until it actually came time to do it.
Sometimes, it’s just nice to have someone next to you who can help you out. Who knows what to do and how to help you garden or finish the homework or whatever is the challenge.
For the Christian, you have the help of the Holy Spirit. He’s always with you, ever since the moment you believed in Jesus as the Savior from your sins. He’s the perfect counselor for any situation. In John 16:13, Jesus promised that the Holy Spirit will guide you into all truth. In verse 14, Jesus adds that the Holy Spirit takes truth from Jesus and reveals or teaches it to disciples of Jesus. It’s as if you have your personal spiritual expert always on hand, ready to help at a moment’s notice.
While that doesn’t always mean I know how to make support posts for our garden, the Holy Spirit does enable me to handle those failures with patience and grace. Instead of with anger or giving up. The Christian life is intentionally difficult so that you never do it alone. You succeed as a Christian with a church of fellow believers; you succeed as a Christian with the help of the Holy Spirit.