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When our prayers
and words cease to express the full measure of our pain, the Spirit provides
reassurance, consolation, and relief by interceding on our behalf.
Colleen
Swindoll Thompson
Are you going through a severe test?
Maybe you have lost your appetite or you
haven’t slept well for weeks or months.
Fear and panic have replaced quietness and
peace. You experience loneliness, discouragement, and isolation, complicated by
unending physical or emotional pain.
I experienced this kind of gnawing disquiet
several years ago. I was enduring not one but several significant trials, which
intensified weekly.
On one of the lowest days in my life, I
walked to a hill close to where I lived, slumped down on the sticks and twigs,
and began to cry.
Staring over the hills, I wept . . . then
sobbed, until my hands and face were soaked.
The sorrow turned into sighs and groans of
anguish that no words could describe.
In those several hours, the Holy Spirit was
at work, providing a calm and quiet stillness as the Spirit interceded on my
behalf.
As I walked back to my home, nothing about
the trials had changed, but I had changed.
I had experienced the intimate ministry of
the Holy Spirit.
When our prayers and words cease to express
the full measure of our pain, the Spirit provides reassurance, consolation, and
relief by interceding on our behalf.
Romans 8:26–27 promises:
“In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness;
for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes
for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows
what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according
to the will of God.”
Yes, I found this great promise to be true,
especially in my darkest trials.
Have you experienced Christ’s powerful care
given through the Holy Spirit in your soul?
The Web site of Insight for Living has articles about the Holy Spirit (see “Let’s Get Reacquainted with the Spirit” and “The Spirit Who Is Not a Ghost”). I encourage you to read them and to learn about the powerful, consoling presence of our God.
Colleen Swindoll Thompson holds a bachelor of arts degree in Communication from
Trinity International University as well as minors in psychology and education.
Colleen serves as the director of Reframing Ministries at Insight for Living
Ministries. From the personal challenges of raising a child with disabilities
(her son Jonathan), Colleen offers help, hope, and a good dose of humor through
speaking, writing, and counseling those affected by disability. Colleen and her
husband, Toban, have five children and reside in Frisco, Texas.
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