ODJ: drawing alongside

December 9, 2015 

READ: John 16:5-15 

It is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you (v.7).

A fter scaling a 350-foot rock wall, my climbing partner and I came face-to-face with a massive ice formation—thick, solid, and vertical. Too good an adventure to pass up, we began crunching into the solid wall of blue-green ice with our ice axes and the spikes of our climbing boots.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, I lost my nerve. We had no support ropes, and the thought that any fall would be catastrophic filled my mind. My friend moved closer and assured me that my technique was looking good. As I dug my axe into the ice, he hammered it even deeper with his own—making sure it was secure. Near the summit, he smiled and reassured me once more, and I topped out feeling happy, relaxed, and confident.

In John 16:7, “the Advocate” is translated from the Greek word paracletos. It means “One called alongside.” Jesus knew that His disciples needed more than someone walking with them; they needed Someone who could walk so close that He could guide their every footstep, prevent them from going down the wrong path, and assure them when times were tough (v.13). He had to be a close friend they could trust, another Advocate who would never leave them. So Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to lead them into all truth (John 14:16-17).

Having the Spirit alongside us doesn’t mean He gets the job done for us. We must individually walk by faith as we go through the trials of life on earth, just as the disciples did. But as we stay in step with the Spirit, He encourages and helps us. When we’re in danger of stepping off the right path, He guides, corrects, and assures us. And when we fall, He intervenes and restores us. This is our Paracletos, the Holy Spirit who provides rest and peace, even in places of peril.

—Russell Fralick

365-day-plan: 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12