You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.

—Jeremiah 29:13

Yesterday, I finished a book that has immediately been added to my list of favorite books of all time. The title of the book is Fawkes by Nadine Brandes. It’s a piece of historical fiction about 17th-century England expertly interwoven with a bit of fantasy. Throughout the book, Thomas Fawkes is on a hunt for a cure to the plague that has begun turning his face to stone (there’s your fantasy) and as a result, he gets entangled in a plot to assassinate King James.

The premise itself makes it an intriguing book, and the blending of history and fantasy is masterfully done, but what I really love about this book is that while Thomas is participating in this plot and falling in love with the girl of his dreams, he is also being pursued by White Light—a fictional characterization of the Holy Spirit. 

Thomas is caught between the Keepers, who fear White Light so much they guard themselves against it and refuse to listen to its voice at all, and the Igniters, many of whom seem to be connected to White Light for their own pride and gain. But over the course of the book,  Thomas discovers that what White Light wants is just a relationship with Him. 

It was a beautiful reminder of how involved God wants to be in our lives. To be honest, I rarely think about the Holy Spirit. I think about the Father and Jesus all the time, but rarely do I consider the person of the Trinity who accompanies me throughout my daily life. I haven’t studied His role or sought to understand Him much at all, so this morning, I’m seeking Him. Here’s what I’ve found.

These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

—John 14:25-26

The Holy Spirit is our instructor. We don’t get the joy of being able to sit face-to-face with Jesus and ask Him questions about Life and Truth, but we do have the Holy Spirit to teach us. As a teacher, I do my best to make use of every moment my students are in my classroom. Every assignment I give them, and every discussion I have with them, I am trying to invest in them and teach them not only the material I am responsible for but also how to be the best version of themselves possible.

But I get tired. When December and May hit, I’m all but spent and I’m not as efficient. While I get tired and become less effective as the year goes on, the Holy Spirit is never tired. He never has to take a nap or go on a vacation to restore Himself. He is always there, ready to teach us to be more like Him if we are willing to listen to the lesson.

The Holy Spirit reminds us. On July 8th, I wrote a devotion about the importance of remembering. There are so many things on many of our plates that remembering things other than what’s next on the schedule can be difficult at times, but remembering the truly important things is crucial because it affects the choices we make. Remembering who we know Jesus to be and what He teaches us through Scripture has a significant impact on how we treat others. And if we listen, the Holy Spirit will help us keep that at the forefront of our minds.

I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

—John 16:12-13

The Holy Spirit is our guide. The original word translated as guide doesn’t just mean someone who gives you a tour of a famous city. It refers to a moral guide and it is closely associated with teaching. That same connection between guiding and teaching is made in Isaiah 30 when God tells the Israelites that He will guide them and teach them. 

What I love about it is the intimacy of the picture. Our English Bibles say that we will hear a voice behind us telling us which way to go, but from what I can tell about the original word, it can be used as any number of different prepositions—out of, from, on the side of, above, behind—all of them close by based on the context. 

The Holy Spirit is our messenger from God the Father (and maybe Jesus? I honestly don’t know exactly how this works). This is exciting! For those of us who have entered into a relationship with Jesus, the Holy Spirit speaks to us and we can be assured based on this verse, that the source is trustworthy because it’s a direct message from at least two if not all three persons of the Trinity.

I’m convicted as I write that all of these roles require me to be willing to listen, and I can say with confidence that I often haven’t even thought about listening for His instruction and guidance. It hasn’t been an intentional ignoring of the Holy Spirit (most of the time), but too often I go about things in my own power and don’t stop to ask what I should do. So that’s going to be my goal for this week—to approach life with a willingness and readiness to listen.