Holy Spirit: The Comforter

In hindsight, there have been many times in my life when I’ve needed the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The greatest was during the loss of my father and grandmother. The evening we had to make a decision to take my grandmother off the ventilator was one of the most difficult things my family has had to do. We were told there wasn’t anything else they could do for her; so we were all believing God for a miracle. I began to pray and asked God to allow her to breathe on her own. However, if it was His will for her to go home with Him; He would allow her to go quickly without suffering. When the ventilator was removed, I saw Granny sit up in the bed, lift her head high, raise her hands, and take her last breath. It was as if she was ready to go and I could see that the Lord was taking her. Although my heart was filled with sorrow, I couldn’t help but praise the Comforter for ending her suffering. Immediately, I felt the peace of God fill the room and I knew that He had answered my prayer.

While grieving, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in a very tangible way on several occasions. In my despair, I asked the Father to give me strength. Immediately, I felt the presence of the Comforter engulf me. It was as if the Lord Himself was rocking me in His arms. Until this day, I miss her but every time sorrow tries to fill my heart, the Comforter replaces it with His reassurance. There have been several other times that I have experienced such divine comfort in my life.

We often think of needing comfort in the midst of heartache and loss. However, we experience the power of the Comforter every day. The Comforter is there when we face tough decisions and feel as if the weight of the world is on our shoulders. David expressed this in Psalms 118:5 when he said, “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place”. The Comforter is there when we fall short and the enemy tries to convince us that God is mad at us or will not forgive us. The Comforter is present when others turn their backs on us when we need them the most. John 14:18 says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you”; the Comforter is with us always.

Why? The Father is not slack in His promises concerning His beloved children. His Word is good and we can count on it. When we allow God to be God IN us, we can comfort and encourage others by operating in the same comforting power of the Spirit operating within us.

Let our confession be as it is in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4:

” Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God”.

Thank God for the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Comfort and let Him be a comforter for and through you.