Fear No Fear

(All scripture from Lexham English Bible, Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software)

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name—that one will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything that I said to you.

John 14:26

Advocate is another word for comforter – it all depends on your translation. An advocate is someone who publicly supports. A comforter is someone who makes you feel less worried, upset, or frightened. They’re a person who reduces the intensity of the negative feelings and calms you down. Best practise in the world is to actively listen, validate the person’s feelings by acknowledging their emotions, offer your support without trying to fix the problem, and just be there with them. Thankfully for us, that is NOT what the Ruach HaKodesh does.

He IS with us. All the time. Never leaving. We’re NEVER alone. We do NOT have to rely on our own strength, our own ideas, or our own wisdom. In fact, He is there to support us AND fix the problem by showing us what to do. That knowledge can come from the Word or from His VAST store of perfect knowledge. He can tell you how to fix a car, consolidate your finances, where you left the glasses, and what to say to your children or spouse. He is THE Spirit of Truth and has all knowledge of all things – using that knowledge to bring the Father glory at all times. It is a resource that we ALL have, but not all of us use.

One of the better things Ruach HaKodesh does for us is to acknowledge our feelings, but NOT validate them by getting us to choose to turn them into an emotion. To validate something is to support the truth of it. But feelings aren’t ‘true’. They are sensory input. They are NOT always true. Basing emotions on them is inherently foolish. Just look at all the words out there that people have laid down having to do with soothing them, learning to manage them, etc. They are volatile and change too frequently to be depended on for ANYTHING.

Emotions, however, are choices we make. We can base them on our feelings (bad idea) or on the Fruit of the Spirit available to us at all times (God idea). We can access and consume the patience Ruach HaKodesh grew. The joy. The peace. The faithfulness. All of them (Galatians 5:22-23). If we don’t know which emotion is the best one in the situation we are in or facing, we can ask (James 1:5-8). We don’t have to go it alone. We can have help from Almighty Elohim Himself. We can take from what we didn’t grow and ‘eat’ it so that we can use it. We can be patient as HE is patient. Kind as HE is kind. It totally and completely eliminates the negative feelings that are swarming around in our heads.

The comfort He is, is more than just making us ‘feel’ better. It is about defusing the situation by allowing us to BE better. We’re the righteousness of Elohim in Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:22). Ruach HaKodesh is here to remind us of that. To remind us to trust Jesus. He’s a spiritual tzitzit always directing our eyes to Jesus who directs our eyes to the Father while all three give us blessing, anointing, and equipment to not only make it through what is facing us, but to overcome it.

Daily Affirmation of the Goodness of Elohim: Revelation 21:3

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,

“Behold, the dwelling of God is with humanity, and he will take up residence with them, and they will be his people and God himself will be with them.” God is dwelling WITH us. He has taken up residence WITHIN us. We are His temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). The glory of Adonai is within us. He shines out of us, the Light of the World. But He is WITH us. We NEVER have to be alone. Even when others let us down, there He is. Right there. Inside us. We don’t have to be lonely. We don’t have to find someone to talk to. We have Adonai inside us. Eager for a relationship. And in Jesus, covered by the blood of His sacrifice, we have the righteousness to interact. What a GOOD God!

Your Daily Confession of Elohim’s Goodness:

I taste and see that Yahweh is good; I am blessed because I take refuge in Him.

Psalm 34:8