The Remembrancer (Part 1)

John 14:25,26 "These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

I am increasingly grateful for the Spirit of Jesus! He is wonderful and He is perfect in fulfilling His role as God, the third Person. It's obvious by all that Jesus says about Him (especially in the Gospel of John) that He loves the Holy Spirit.

One role of the Spirit is that of Remembrancer. "Remembrancer" is an old word referring to a person who helps another person remember what is needful. Jesus said of His Spirit that He would remind us of His life-giving words in the moment of need. What a wonderful Gift! It's not up to me to try to figure out which word of Jesus applies to my current situation; He is the One who knows best how to minister the Word of God to my life. And from personal experience I can testify to how delightful and surprising His quickening of the Word is to given situations.

For example, a simple but profound experience that marked me as a young missionary was when one of my major supporters died suddenly. This person was giving me 1/5 of my needed monthly financial support. When I received the news, I was tempted to panic; then the Father's Spirit whispered to my spirit, "Nita, I am your Source; I didn't die!" That simple word (based on Matt. 6:33 and many other truths in the Word) immediately brought me peace. The Spirit reminded me that God is my Source and Provider; the means of provision come and go, but the Provider is eternal and He is my Father.

As I journey with the Lord and as I help others in their journey with Him, I'm struck by how much we weak and fallen humans desperately need constant reminding of truth in Christ Jesus. As western Christians we have no shortage of Bible information, but I believe we lack a personal and ongoing experience of the Spirit of Jesus who is not only able to keep reminding us of what we have learned, but delights to function as Remembrancer of Jesus' words and life.

We humans forget easily and quickly. (Notice how much this is underscored in the account of Israel's history in Psalm 106; in contrast, God is good at remembering.) It is a living and current fellowship with the Holy Spirit that holds us steady in the Truth in our moment of need. The more we commune with Him, the more alert we are to His slight whispers and nudges throughout the day. These reminders from Him come in a variety of ways; sometimes they come directly from Him to our inner life, other times through outer influences. He is wanting to constantly remind us of truths that we know and that will empower and liberate us in the moment of need.

Next week I'll follow up on this with some simple and practical steps by which I believe we can cooperate with the Spirit of God as He fulfills His role as Remembrancer.

Jesus, thank You for the "Promise of the Father" about Whom you spoke before You ascended to God. What a blessed Gift - Your very own Spirit! Thank You that you have left us without Someone to remind us of Your truth, Someone Who not only has perfect memory of Your words but Who also knows me perfectly and knows what I need to remember in any given moment and situation. Thank You, thank You!