Daily Devotional

Jesus was speaking to His disciples when He spoke to them about the Holy Spirit. It was almost time for Jesus to be betrayed and to be carried away to His undeserving crucifixion. The one promise that stands out, though, is found in verse 18, "I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."

Whilst Jesus was on earth He was a comforter, a guide and a friend to the people. He instructed them, loved them, had borne with their ignorance, and wept with others who were in mourning. But Jesus could not be personally and bodily present in all places with the vast multitudes who believed on Him. And that is why He asked His Father to send the Holy Spirit, after He returned to His Father in Heaven.

In verse 15 Jesus said that God will give you "another" helper. The word "another" means somebody with the exact same qualities. The Holy Spirit is a mirror image of Jesus. Every quality and every characteristic that Jesus had while on earth exists in the Holy Spirit.

I exhort you today that if you are saved and you feel despondent or feel like giving up, remember that you have a Friend who lives inside you. Jesus told His followers that He does not call us servants, but friends. A friend loves at all times (Proverbs 17:17). Friends share and care for each other. Earthly friends may leave you or let you down, but Jesus is a friend to the end.

"What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear.

What a privilege to carry, everything to God in prayer."

- Joseph M. Scriven (1819 — 1886)