My Invisible Friend

So much of what God does and is doing is behind the scenes. He is not one who grabs headlines or demands notice. The work that His Spirit does in the human heart was described by Jesus as like the wind, moving as it wishes, but no one knows where it comes from or where it goes. (John 3:8)

It takes awhile to learn this. For the first ten years of my marriage, I tried to convince my husband of the truth about Jesus Christ. He would have none of it. Then God convinced me to be quiet and let Him do the work. I could see nothing happening, nothing at all.

After we moved to California, I was unsure about churches and where to attend. God whispered, “Wait.” This was difficult, but after a time, my husband decided that our family should attend church. He picked one from the Yellow Pages, and off we went. That first sermon was something from the Old Testament, hardly a salvation message, but unknown to me, the Holy Spirit had been at work. The pastor gave an altar call at the end and my husband went forward and became a Christian.

That was more than thirty years ago. Since then, God keeps teaching me that when I pray, He will not necessarily show me what He is doing in answer to my prayers. Sometimes, because He does not put Himself in the limelight, I almost miss that all the good things that happen in our lives are because of His power and goodness.

You gave your good Spirit to instruct (the Israelites) and did not withhold your manna from their mouth and gave them water for their thirst. Forty years you sustained them in the wilderness, and they lacked nothing. Their clothes did not wear out and their feet did not swell. And you gave them kingdoms and peoples and allotted to them every corner. So they took possession of the land. . . . You multiplied their children as the stars of heaven, and you brought them into the land that you had told their fathers to enter and possess. So the descendants went in and possessed the land, and you subdued before them the inhabitants of the land . . . and gave them into their hand, with their kings and the peoples of the land, that they might do with them as they would. And they captured fortified cities and a rich land, and took possession of houses full of all good things, cisterns already hewn, vineyards, olive orchards and fruit trees in abundance. So they ate and were filled and became fat and delighted themselves in your great goodness. (Nehemiah 9:20–25)

For the past few days, God has been reminding me again that He is at work, even when I cannot see what He is doing. The ancient people of God were prone to forget Him when they couldn’t see Him at work, and even sometimes when they could see His actions. I don’t want to make the same error.

The Holy Spirit is good. He is holy, pure and true. He does not push, or make Himself the center of attention. He bears me up when I fall, strives with me when I’m wilful, trains me out of my ignorance and leads me when all seems dark or confusing.

He is generous, tender, forgiving, full of good thoughts and quick to put them into my head. He reveals truth when I need it, motivates me when I need that, and even whispers “well done” when I obey.

Like the child learning to swing a bat, I sometimes forget that the Holy Spirit has His arms around me, His hands on my hands. He does it all and I cannot boast in anything. Yet He works so silently, so invisibly. This means that faith is my eyes and ears. Without faith, I’m sure that I would not know He is here with me, sustaining and supporting me.

The Bible says that I can grieve the Spirit and even quench Him by ignoring Him or refusing His leadership in my life. I know that I can insult Him too — by choosing my own way instead of living in His fullness, filled with His qualities and overflowing with His fruit. How could I possibly think that my way is better than is? Yet sin does that. I need the Holy Spirit to keep me from sin.

Children often invent “invisible” friends to keep them company and protect them from creatures that go bump in the night, but my invisible friend is no invention. He has changed my life far too drastically to be a mere product of my imagination. He is exactly what Jesus said He would be.

And I (Jesus)  will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16–17)

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