Throughout the Bible we see various descriptions and roles for the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers. Some are emphasized more than others depending on our denominational affiliation or personal experience. In the past century or so, there has been an increasing awareness of the fullness or baptism of the Holy Spirit—an outpouring that brings with it various spiritual gifts such as prophecy, tongues, healing, wisdom etc. (See 1 Cor. 12 for more)

A Baptism Of Fire

This baptism is with the fire of God which brings several aspects of its own. Zeal, boldness and courage are some of those aspects. But another of those aspects is pain. When the fire comes and burns the chaff in our lives and refines our character, we feel pain.

You see, He is called the Holy Spirit and once He has greater access to our lives He will not only be in the business of giving us spiritual gifts, but also in transforming us to be holy as He is holy. To the natural man, this is a grueling process that involves many fiery trials and tests. We are all familiar with trials and tests if we are sincere Christians, but it seems there is another level of it when the fire of God falls on us. 

The Comforter

Yet, there is still another aspect of this fire and this will be our focus for the remainder of this post. This aspect involves comfort. Yes, fire can also bring us comfort and cheer. In various parts of the New Testament (see John14:16 & 14:26 for example), the Holy Spirit is referred to as the Greek word, Parakletos. This word is rendered by various translations of the Bible as Comforter, Advocate, Helper and Counselor. So, no matter what kind of trials we may be facing because of the work of the Holy Spirit, there is always the hope and truth that He is ultimately for us—to comfort us, advocate for us, help us, and counsel us.

It may seem ironic to have the seemingly opposite aspects (comfort and pain) coming from the same source, but God has a purpose in it all. He has need to break us in our old nature, but He simultaneously brings us great comfort in our spirits to build up that part of us. So, perhaps this makes it all the more important to keep our minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:2). If we focus on spiritual matters, our eyes will be on the good the Holy Spirit is doing rather than emphasizing the devastation He causes to our carnal nature.

His Presence

This perspective in itself is a great comfort, but He Himself is a greater comfort still. The warmth of His presence in hours of darkness cannot be naturally accounted for. When things spin out of control around us, the peace deep within us can’t be explained with words. We can just know He’s there and love Him for it. We love Him because He first loved us. And one of the ways we receive that love is by the great comfort of the Holy Spirit. Let’s dwell upon this comfort in our secret place with the Lord. It will sustain us in many storms.