The One Thing We Can Know in Our Hurts
- Grace B-P Contributor
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
By Jared C. Wilson
We may not always (or ever) understand the ways of God’s providence, why he makes us certain ways or leads us through certain things. But one thing we can know: looking at the cross, we are very loved.
This is perhaps the chief way the Holy Spirit comforts us in our afflictions. He reminds us of what Christ has done for us. He knows the biggest help we could ever get is from the power of the gospel. And the Spirit’s reminding us of the gospel is entirely according to plan, just as Jesus said:
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. (John 14:26)
The Holy Spirit comes to us in our moments of suffering and reminds us of the sufferings of Christ for us, that we are not alone nor or ever, because of the great and eternal love of God given to us through Jesus. Another way to put this is that the Holy Spirit comforts us by reminding us of God’s love.
It is tempting especially in times of darkness to feel abandoned or unloved. We can doubt the love of God because of the pains we face that only he can alleviate. When for some reason he won’t. We begin to reason, like Job’s friends, that we have done something to deserve our disability, our depression, our debilitating pains. But the same Spirit who groans with us in Romans 8:26 reminds us of Romans 8:1—“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Our great Helper gently and firmly teaches us about Christ, bringing to our remembrance all Christ did for us, including dying. If you are ever tempted to doubt God’s love for you, look at the cross!
“God is love,” the apostle John tells us (1 John 4:8). This means that in his inter-Trinitarian self, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit share an abounding love for each other that has overflowed and spilled into the bounds of creation, bringing even sinners like us to taste the goodness of God’s divine nature.
The love of God, the psalmist says, is better than your next breath (Ps. 63:3), and so when all else gives way, whether you die young or old, the love of God will still be there, never stopping, never ending, lifting you up to glory.
And on the day of resurrection, when you enjoy the fullness of creation in a earth, it will be love that empowers you and all the redeemed creation, and it will restored be the love of God that drives our worship of Jesus forever.
When you’re tempted to think God has reached his limit with you, the Spirit reminds you that “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” (Lam. 3:22).
When you feel like God has abandoned you, the Spirit reminds you, “The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit” (Ps. 34:18).
When you expect to be rejected by Christ, the Spirit reminds you that Jesus has gone to prepare a place for you, that where he is, you will be also (John 14:3).
When you are racked by insecurity, the Spirit reminds you that you are safely in the hands of Jesus and nothing can snatch you away (John 10:29).
When you are overcome by fear, the Spirit reminds you that “perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18) and that his own indwelling presence in your life is not conducive to fear, but to power, love, and self-control (2 Tim. 1:7). Indeed, “you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons” (Rom. 8:15).
When you are just flat-out overwhelmed by life, the Spirit reminds you that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).
The Holy Spirit sent by Christ to comfort us will go on and on to apply it to our hearts in the pain of our darkest days. And when our darkest days are no more, we will go on and on, celebrating the gospel with him for all eternity.
Article excerpt taken from The Gospel Coalition (U.S. Edition). Read the full resource here: https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/one-thing-can-know-hurts
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