The Comforter

All through the Bible, God helps His people remember by giving them something they can see and touch.

When Israel crossed the Jordan, twelve stones were taken out of the river and set up, so that one day the children would ask, "What mean ye by these stones?" Noah was given a rainbow. A pot of manna was kept in the ark of the covenant. And Jesus gave us bread and a cup. God knows something about our minds that we keep forgetting: they do not hold on to much by themselves, so He keeps handing us things to hold.

Keep that in mind as you read what Jesus promises here, because the promise is more exact than the way people usually quote it. The Holy Spirit "shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." That last phrase sets a boundary. The Comforter's teaching is tied to the words of Christ. Jesus does not describe Him as a source of strong feelings that come out of nowhere. He describes Him as the One who brings back what Jesus said. That is a comfort, and it is also a test. It is a comfort because the word you cannot call up when you need it can be brought back to you. It is a test because the Spirit brings back what Christ said, and so He brings back what you have actually taken in.

Jesus said this to men who had spent about three years listening to Him. Within a day they would lose Him to the cross. They would have to remember His words rightly, under pressure, with no notes. That is what the promise was for.

So the lesson is plain, and a little humbling. You are not being asked to have a better memory. You are being asked to put God's Word in, and to trust the Holy Spirit to bring it back at an hour you will not choose. Even a page you read poorly today is stored away for that hour. A page you never read cannot be brought back, so open it today and give Him something to bring back.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 76 is Said Out Loud (Psalm 20:7).

All 365 readings in Daily Manna