Our secret weapon

Mark 13: When the time comes, say what’s on your heart – the Holy Spirit will make his witness in and through you.

Big, devastating changes are coming. Their beloved Temple, for instance, will be a pile of ruins. Godly people will be abused, dragged into court. When the pressure’s on and their enemies have the upper hand the followers of Jesus are to remember these words and turn to the Lord for strength and wisdom to triumph even in the darkest of days. Specifically, when they stand accused in court they shall do so in confidence. They’ll have an inner Resource. They’ll find themselves saying things they haven’t thought of and with a power they never imagined. That Resource, Jesus says, is the Holy Spirit. In the decades to come generations of martyrs rise up, each proving the words of Jesus. When things are the darkest, God’s people stand firmly victorious empowered by the Holy Spirit. I believe the Holy Spirit is still at work in the world today. Beyond that, I believe he’s at work in me. I think I tend to worry too much about what I’m supposed to say and do in difficult situations. I forget this promise and think it’s all up to me and I fear I’ll blow it. Surely, those Christians proved this promise to be about a literal enabling of the Holy Spirit for God’s people, especially when they’re under the gun. I need to be more aware of this promise and of the practical Resource of the Holy Spirit, especially when I need immediate, crisis-level help.

Take Away: The help of the Holy Spirit is more real and immediate than most of us realize.