“I am in distress and I want consolation. Some passer-by hears of my sorrow, and he steps within, sits down, and essays to cheer me; he speaks soothing words, but he loves me not; he is a stranger; he knows me not at all; he has only come in to try his skill. And what is the consequence? His words run o’er me like oil upon a slab of marble; they are like the pattering of rain upon the rock; they do not break my grief; it stands unmoved and adamant, because he has no love for me. But let someone who loves me as dear as his own life come and plead with me, then truly his words are music; they taste like honey; he know the password of the doors of my heart, and my ear is attentive to every word: I catch the intonation of each syllable as it falls, for it is like the harmony of the harps of heaven. Oh! There is a voice in love, it speaks a language which is its own; it has an idiom and a brogue which none can mimic; wisdom cannot imitate it; oratory cannot attain unto it; it is love alone which can reach the mourning heart love is the only hand-kerchief which can wipe the mourner’s tears away. And is not the Holy Ghost a loving comforter? Dost thou know, O saint, how much the Holy Spirit loves thee? Canst thou measure the love of the Spirit?”
– Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeons Sermons, Vol. I, Sermon III
Last night I wrote of how my conversation with my man Justin had such a great impact on my mood and outlook, and here this afternoon I read these words from Spurgeon that so eloquently explain the reason why it is so. Spurgeon here is talking specifically about the Holy Spirit and His part as our comforter, a role which we so often and easily forget. And how much we need a comforter in this life! From within and without there is war against us; David and the other Psalmist’s mourning about how all other men, even their friends and family, seeming to be against them is simply a part of this life. Would not all our hearts have resounded with the words of Psalm 55 when David writes, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would flee away and be at rest – I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”
There is much that conspires against us. In my own life perhaps the greatest frustration is my own shortcomings and failings. “What a wretched man I am!” is often my cry, and a true one it is. What a wretched man it is that turns from his Savior and King time and time again, knowing full well that what he turns to will bring no lasting satisfaction. How blind! How weak! How foolish to turn from the one whom I love and trade His sweetness for the false candy-coating of earthly, sinful pleasures!
And yet it is as I mourn and struggle in this life; as I and wounded by those around my and as I am frustrated by the futility caused by the curse; as I look within myself and am confounded by the sin within myself and my own shortcomings; in all of these things the Holy Spirit is there, closer and more gentle than any human companion. He knows our every breath, thought, and emotion, and moves with the infallibility of God Himself – for He is God – to bind and heal every wound, removing that which must be removed, repairing what must be repaired, and adding what must be added.
What an amazing thing to think that the Lord of heaven and earth has chosen to be so close to us, to be ever present to meet our needs. If only we could but grasp this massiveness of this truth, we would know neither fear nor shame, and would be swept away in that “peace which transcends all understanding” as a kite is caught up on a steady, never ending breeze. Listen, friends; listen to the Spirit as He speaks to you! As I wrote last night, be ready and willing to turn to those who God has placed in your life, but be even more adamant in your attention to the Spirit. He knows you and loves you, and as Christ promised, the Spirit is the comforter of our souls; the one who bears us up in all afflictions. Cast yourself upon Him in all things and you will not be disappointed.
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