Never alone

One thing my five‑year‑old daughter used to do quite often, and even does now from time to time, is crawl into my wife’s and my bed and snuggle in between us. When we ask why, she’ll say, “I was lonely.”

I think all of us can relate to that feeling sometimes. And the disciples themselves were feeling lonely when Jesus said he was going away.

But Jesus told them,

I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth.

The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.

I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me.

Because I live, you also will live.

On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.

He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him…

If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. (John 14:16–21, 23)

Here we see the Trinity in all its fullness. And it tells us a very important truth: God is with us.

Jesus said he would send a counselor to us, God the Holy Spirit. And that the Holy Spirit would teach us and remind us of the things that Jesus said.

Then Jesus said that he himself would come to us and that he would be in us. That he would not abandon us as orphans.

Finally, he said that the Father himself would make his home in us.

The key? We walk in obedience to him. And that all comes down to what we talked about yesterday: trust. Do we trust God enough that we obey him?

That’s why Jesus said at the beginning of this chapter,

Trust in God; trust also in me. (John 14:1)

It is impossible to have a relationship with God if we refuse to trust him.

Closely related to that is love. Do we love God enough to want to please him? Do we love him enough to avoid the things that hurt him, and to do the things that bring a smile to his face?

If we love, trust, and obey him, then we’ll find that God is right there with us, through the good times and bad. And because of that, we can find peace.

Jesus told his disciples,

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)