Why the Holy Spirit is important

The Holy Spirit, my helper, the Holy Spirit my teacher! Holy Spirit my comforter, Holy Spirit, my friend from way back. What can I do without this essential communion? Where will I be without the help of this friend? The Holy Spirit the one who understands my why and provide the strategy to fulfil it. For in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, lies my hope.

Winter Table Talk 2025

Her young body had suddenly stopped absorbing nutrients from food, the doctor had informed my parent 4 months prior. I recalled making frequent trips to the pharmacy to purchase some protein rich baby food or some vitamins to boost her health. Nothing helped! It was a long stay at the hospital and the doctor finally released her weak, fragile body for my mom to go take care of.

I was young, but I remembered the several trips to a woman of God who would mentor my mom on how to pray about the situation. We read the psalms, prayed the prayers, but my sister didn't feel better. On that December night, my sister stopped breathing. It was a lonely night for my family. How do we celebrate Christmas with the loss of my 11-month-old baby sister?

Now, I have to step up for my parent. How can a 9-year-old step-up to find the help for her family on a night filled with so much sorrow, darkness, and fear? Around 10.30 pm that night, I went to knock on the door of our landlord, who gave me a ride to my mom's younger sister place. Her husband volunteered to drive me to the place, that would become my baby sister's resting place. For the entire 45 minutes' drive to the location, I wept for my sister, my family, our future. I was devastated. I was sad. I was scared.

As if that was not enough, few days to Christmas, we got the news that my pregnant cousin died during childbirth. The baby lived. And as if that was not enough, in January the following year, we received the news, that another cousin in America, pursuing a PhD, had passed, unexpectedly. He still visited us in Nigeria that summer. You can't make sorrow up. How do we live with this deep sorrow? Where are you God I asked? I needed God. We needed God. Most importantly, we needed the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

When Joel wrote in Joel 2:28 which reads, and afterwards, I will pour my spirit on all flesh, your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Those were words of prophecy from a man with a sorrowful heart, a word of prophecy for a city in deep devastation, sorrow, despair, and hopelessness. It was one bad thing, and then the other. It was like the people of God were living in quagmire. In Joel 1:3-4, he said, "tell it, what the locust swarm left, the great locusts have eaten, what the great locusts have left, the young locusts have eaten, what the young locusts had left, another locust have eaten." The locust invasion destroyed everything- the fields of grain, the vineyard garden, and the trees. The plague was followed by a terrible famine. The book of Joel teaches us about the power of prayers and fasting during a difficult time.

And in the middle of all these devastations, Joel released a prophecy, a promise of the coming of the spirit of God, who would help his people navigate life, walk in freedom, enjoy abundant life, that is full of joy, peace, wisdom, and fulfilment.

Why the Holy Spirit have to come

From the beginning, human had desired to be like God, live like God, and act like God. But human is limited in knowledge, in understanding, in wisdom, in perspective, capacity, and in ability. We only know the present. We are only capable of seeing the obvious. After the fall of man, humans were detached form the presence of God. Humans are imperfect and faulty. After the fall of man, human had to age. Human had to live a very hard life full of struggles, pains and losses, just like the one I had. You can't navigate life with that mindset. You are not living the abundant life full of joy and peace when you constantly feel the need to do and do, for you to be loved and for you to enjoy the gift of life. The laws couldn't help. Laws can be interpreted differently depending on context. Human turned the laws into a tool to maltreat others. The prophets could not help. Jesus had to come. But Jesus had to die and go back to heaven.

In John 14, Jesus made His disciples realize the importance of the Holy Spirit. Even Jesus, yes, your Jesus, needed the Holy Spirit. Jesus knew, the disciples can't do life without a helper. Jesus knew his followers can't live a Godly life without the help of the helper- the Holy Spirit. Even with the number of teachings in parables and practical, the disciples are still unclear on the Father and that the Father and the son are one. The disciples have so many unanswered questions, yet it was towards the end of Jesus' life and there was a deep gap in knowledge about God and how to live a Godly life. Jesus had taught them everything, but there were still questions. Jesus had made them see how he lived the life of God, but the followers still had questions on how to live a Godly life as an individual, with all of your personality and differences.

Jesus said, If I do not leave, the Holy Spirit will not come. But you need the Holy Spirit, the comforter, who will teach you everything.

"You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you?" (Galatians 3:1-3) Don't you just love how kind and gentle Paul letters are? Why was Paul so pissed off with the Galatians? It was because the Galatians had the wrong idea about the importance of the Holy Spirit. They understood the role that the Spirit played in conversion quite right, but they were missing out on his role as Helper in the ongoing life of a believer. Many Christians today get caught up in the same trap. We forget why the Holy Spirit is so important in doing this thing called life. We rely on our common sense and a times on others to know what God wants to do in our lives. We need to respond to the Holy Spirit to live abundant life.

The Holy Spirit my bespoke personal life navigation system. Here are nine key roles that the Holy Spirit plays

He guides you into all truth

The law can be interpreted in different ways but the interpretation of God on a subject is the truth. What is lawful for you may not be expedient for another. What is expedient for another, may not be permitted for another. The Holy Spirit teaches you what God want for your life. The Holy Spirit help you understand the truth over a matter. Jesus was clear on the importance of the Holy Spirit: " But when he. the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth, he will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you" _ John 16:13-14. The Holy Spirit teaches you the strategy that works for you in fulfilling your purpose and enjoying life abundantly. The Holy spirit is your customized revealer of the truth for your life.

He Empowers you to proclaim

The Acts of the Apostles is the Acts of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit gives you power to become children of God and win. In Acts, Luke recalls the crucial role of the Holy Spirit played in the early church. Right from Peter healing the man at the beautiful gates, to Paul raising the dead, to Stephen proclaiming the death and resurrection of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is important. Peter, who about 50 days prior denied Jesus three times, rose boldly after receiving the Holy Ghost to declare that Jesus Christ is Lord. Peter stood right where Jesus had been condemned and accused the religious elite that they had crucified the Messiah. That boldness could only be possible through the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

He teaches you everything

God has a will. God has His way of doing things. The will of God is manifested through the works of God. And the word of God is instruction for wisdom. The Holy Spirit helps us understand God's mind and will. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to apply the word of God for an effective lifestyle. Sucess is a cumulative effect of a well-managed life. Success is the outcome of a well-executed strategy. There are several ways that leads to the outcome. But the way of God is the path that leads us to a glorious destination. There are several ways to get to our destination. The Holy Spirit teaches us the strategy to get to the glorious destination that promote the glory the glory of God and brings joy and peace. The Holy Spirit teaches believers all things.

He convicts about sin and righteousness

The law was limited as it lays the guilt of sin but did not bring freedom. The Holy Spirit provides God's perspective on sin and righteousness.

He converts ordinary people to sons and daughters of God

Without the Holy Spirit, we are ordinary, living ignorantly in sin. The Holy Spirit is the one that converts us to become children of God. Without the Holy Spirit salvation can't happen. In John 3, Jesus said, except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" John 3:5. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit. No one becomes sons of daughters of God without the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that make you accept you are a sinner. It is the Holy Spirit that makes you believe you need a savior. And it is the Holy Spirit that helps you confess, by faith, that Jesus Christ is Lord.

He gives you spiritual gifts

The Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to all followers of Jesus so that we can serve and play our role in the building and edification of the Body of Christ. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are numerous. He gave the artistic ability to Bezalel and Oholiab in Exodus 31 Paul gave us sampling of those gifts in his first letter to the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. In subsequent articles, we will discuss the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

He helps you bear the fruits of the Spirit

When we abide in Christ, we bear fruits. The Holy Spirit helps us bear fruits to be a blessing to others. Paul in Galatians 5:22 provides nine fruits of the Spirit that shows up in the life of a believer. Without the help of the Holy Spirit, we are fleshy and bears the fruits of the flesh. The Holy Spirit correct us, prune us, groom us, refine us, instruct us to become a fruitful branch that bears the fruits of the Spirit.

He Guarantees your hope of heaven

Humans can walk; Spirit can levitate. If you want to argue, ask Philip in Acts 8. The Holy Spirit is also important because he is the one that guarantees our inheritance in heaven. It is the Holy Spirit that made Jesus resurrects. The bible says in Romans 8:11 that if the Spirit that made Jesus resurrects lives in you, that spirit will quicken your mortal body. The Holys Spirit helps us resurrect and reign with Jesus in heaven.

He gives hope and comfort

The Holy Spirit comforts us through life's hardships.

I think that is enough for the third week. I would like to hear from you. Why is the Holy Spirit important to you? Drop yours in the comment

Winter Table Talk is an annual bible study organized by The How Platform during the Winter months that focuses on a topic. 2025 is the year of the Holy Spirit.

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