Super-Natural

Most of us are familiar with stories about “superheroes”—fictitious characters like Superman who are extremely powerful and always swoop in to save the day right when you need their help. Pretty cool, right?

Well, as Christians, we have access to Someone even greater: the Holy Spirit.

When we accept Christ as our Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell inside of us—God literally gives each one of us a little piece of Himself. So what does this mean? It means that all of God’s power, strength, comfort, creativity, and help are available to us at all times. He is our real-life superhero.

In John 16:7 (AMPC) Jesus uses several different words to describe the incredible work of the Holy Spirit: Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener and Standby. Let’s take a look at what this means for our lives…

Comforter

I believe one of the greatest lessons we can learn is to run to God first when we have a problem. When we are hurting, so many times we look to other people to help us feel better only to discover they don’t have everything we need.
The Bible says that God is “the God of all comfort.” (2 Corinthians 1:3) The Holy Spirit, who dwells on the inside of us, knows us better than anyone else, and when life is painful, He has the ability to bring strength and healing right where we hurt. Yes, the Lord will often use others to bring us comfort, but running to God first opens the door for Him to help us in the best way possible.

Counselor

It is simply amazing what can happen when we begin asking the Holy Spirit for help and answers to our problems.
Recently, I was having episodes of feeling really weak and tired. As I sought the Lord about it, He showed me I wasn’t eating often enough and my blood sugar was dipping too low. I adjusted my diet, and everything went back to normal! When I later went to the doctor, he confirmed this was the problem.

I believe we often spin our wheels looking for solutions when the Lord has our answers all along. The Holy Spirit is our Counselor, and as we seek Him, He can reveal in a few moments things we could never discover on our own.

Helper

Did you know the Holy Spirit wants to help you with every little detail of your life? Maybe you are like I was. For years, I felt like it was okay to bring my “serious problems” to God, but I didn’t want to bother Him with the smaller things.
The truth is, the Holy Spirit is concerned about everything that concerns you—whether it’s a “serious” matter like a relationship issue…or something as simple as fixing your hair in the morning.

“Help me!” has become one of my favorite prayers to pray. And the more we acknowledge the Holy Spirit and ask for help, the more we’ll discover His presence and ability in everything we do.

Advocate

The Bible tells us that Satan is our adversary. In fact, it even calls him “the accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:10 NKJV). But there’s good news: We have an Advocate, the Holy Spirit, Who pleads to God on our behalf.

He’s not only our Advocate to the Father, but the Holy Spirit also accompanies us through life—helping us, defending us and giving us favor with others when we need it. Whatever situation you’re facing, you can take comfort knowing that God Himself is on your side.

Intercessor

I don’t know where I’d be without the help of the Holy Spirit in my prayer life. The Bible says He not only intercedes on our behalf to the Father, but He also comes to our aid and helps us to pray that perfect prayer when we don’t know what or how to pray (Romans 8:26).

First Corinthians 2:11 says no one knows the mind of God except the Spirit of God. That means regardless of the situation, the Holy Spirit can always help us pray the right prayer at the right time.

Strengthener

Isaiah 40:29 (AMPC) says that God …gives power to the faint and weary, and to him who has no might He increases strength [causing it to multiply and making it to abound].

I never start a day without asking the Holy Spirit to strengthen me—physically, mentally and in every other way. Because no matter how strong, talented, or capable we think we are, every single one of us requires God’s strength to accomplish His will and enjoy our lives.

I encourage you to begin asking the Holy Spirit for strength as you go about your day. As you do, He will energize you to do your work, resist temptation, be kind and loving with others, and have success. I’ve found that even a short prayer for God’s strength can make all the difference.

Standby

What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit as your Standby? Years ago, the Lord gave me a terrific example. He said think of it this way: If you’ve ever been on “standby” for an airplane, you simply wait nearby until an opening is available—then you take that opportunity.

In the same way, the Holy Spirit is standing by, just waiting for an opening in our lives…waiting for us to ask for His comfort, counsel, guidance, and help.

Friends, I want you to know that God has you covered. I think many of us have a mindset that says, Oh, I don’t want to bother the Lord with that. But the truth is this: The One who knows you the best is the One who desires to help you the most.

And He is with you everywhere you go.