II Thessalonians 2:16
“Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace”.
God has given us many blessings. Primarily our sins are forgiven and we have been promised a home in heaven. That would be enough. However there is much more. Today’s verse hints at that. We’ve got eternal comfort and good hope. This speaks of our inner life.
Are we happy, sad, angry or anxious? God cares about that. Jesus said in John 16:7, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I do not go away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you”. The Holy Spirit lives in us and is intertwined with our spirits. He is joy, peace, hope and love. Where He is yielded to, those traits reside. Paul says in Galatians, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”, (5:22,23).
A friend commented the other day, “I’ll recognize God and Jesus in heaven, but I’m not sure about the Holy Spirit.” True, if we rely on the artist renditions. After thinking about this, we will actually know the Spirit the most. He’s the one living in us, guiding us, comforting us and speaking to us. He is that “still, small voice” that brings so much reassurance.
Romans 8:16,17 is a great passage that refers to our inner relationship with the Spirit, “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God”.
Lord we are so grateful for forgiveness and salvation. Thank You for not stopping there. You want to enter within, bring us comfort, guidance and to let us know You. Thank You!