“It Is For Your
Good…”
By Susan Klein
“But I tell you the
truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the
Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
John
16:7 (NIV)
How
many times have we heard the words, or even spoken them ourselves: “It’s for
your own good?” As a mom, I know I’ve conveyed this message to my children on
more than one occasion. Usually, it was preceded by a “but why, Mom?” because they
didn’t understand or like my decision. I had to ask them to just trust that I
had their best interest at heart. Later, they usually saw the fruit of my
decision.
In
the above verse, Jesus is trying to explain to His disciples that He will soon
be leaving them, and they don’t understand why. After all, His ministry has
only been up and going for a few years and there are still so many people who need
to know Him and benefit from His amazing teaching. They think it might be the
wrong decision on His part - - and like
children - - start to question His
decision. He responds as any loving parent would. He tells them that it is for
their own good. He even goes beyond that to tell them why it is for their good.
Because He is sending the Holy Spirit, to dwell in them, to counsel them in all
truth, to convict the world, and to speak the Father’s words directly to them.
I imagine Him passionately saying something like, “You guys, it’s going to be
so great! You will get to have all of me, all the time, indwelling each and
every one of you! I know you don’t get it now, but just trust me in this,
okay?!!”
How
often we continue to respond, “If only Jesus was still here on earth with us,
life would be so much easier!” Lest we forget, He is here! His Spirit is in
each one of His believers. We have access to Him 24/7! In John
14:23 Jesus says if anyone loves Him, He and the Father will “make our
home” with them. He’s here, at home, in our hearts.
Let’s
not take lightly this precious gift from our Lord. If you aren’t sensing His
Spirit’s working in your life, seek Him in prayer. We need to constantly empty
ourselves of sins and distractions so we can be filled with Him.
Seriously,
it’s for our good.
GOING DEEPER:
1.
Ask God to help you identify the things that might be “hindering” the Holy
Spirit’s power from being evident in your life.
2.
Try making it a part of your prayer
life to ask for His filling.
FURTHER READING:
Susan enjoys teaching Bible
studies, writing, and tutoring with the Literacy Council. She and her husband
Mark co-lead an on-site small group
studying 2 Corinthians with Oakwood's Wednesday Night Community.
