John 16:7
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
I love camping. Well, I do now. To be honest, I wasn’t always the biggest advocate of camping. When I was a kid, my whole extended family rented a giant campground in a Itasca State Park in Minnesota. You have probably never heard of Itasca, but the cool part about this place is it’s actually where the Giant Mississippi River Begins.
Anyways, the entire week we were there it rained cats and dogs. We barely left our tents and after that my family didn’t really go camping again. But once Annie came into my life she started convincing me of the joys of camping! It is now one of my favorite things to do with Annie.
All that goes to say, when you go camping you need a packing list and should make sure you have absolutely everything you need. There have been times where I forgot the most important things when camping. Like I one time, I camped in 30-degree weather without adequate warm clothing. I had only a sweatshirt, sweatpants, and a blanket. That wasn’t very smart. But, when looking at scripture, I see that God gives us everything we need by giving the gift of the Holy Spirit and the Bible.
In John 16:7 Jesus is saying to his disciples, it’s good that I am leaving because the Holy Spirit will come to be with you. This is pretty crazy. Jesus, the Lord of the Universe who had just conquered sin and death and rose from the grave, is chilling in front of you saying, “it’s good I’m leaving!” I would be like, “What? No way! I want you to stay, Jesus.”
So why does he say this? God has given us the absolute gift of the Holy Spirit to advocate, encourage, and help us navigate life. He wanted to leave so he could give us this gift that we still have today. I would encourage you today to lean into the Holy Spirit and ask for its presence to fill you. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead and guide you. Be encouraged today, choose life in the Spirit.