The Helper Inside You: 7 Roles of the Holy Spirit

I need a Helper. Every day, in practical moments, I need help. The execution of my daily life requires assistance. Picking out things.  Repairing things.  Navigating situations.  Making right decisions.  Some are big problems, others are infinitesimally small.

I found my Helper.  You thought I was going to say AI!

No, He is a Person.  God’s Spirit actually lives in my body.

Here are seven ways (at least) He helps me every single day:

 1. He explains the Bible to me.

Much of the Bible is crystal clear.  Some, however, make you scratch your head.  

I’m not smart enough to know all the thoughts of God written down in the Bible.  If I don’t understand something, I speak to the Author of the Book.

He will illuminate my mind or remind me of another Scripture that relates to the first one.  Before you know it, I’m on a trail of a tremendous new truth I never understood before.  It’s happened hundreds of times.

2. He lifts my spirits.

We all need encouragement.  Unfortunately, we don’t always have a friend around.

David reached a point of total distress when his wife and children were carried off from Ziklag.  He called for the priestly ephod and I like this phrase:

“David encouraged himself in the Lord his God” (1 Sam. 30:6).

Through Scripture and praise, the Holy Spirit lifts me out of the dumps.  An amazing joy comes into my heart.  I start to sing and worship.

3. He gives me wisdom.

Practically every day, I find myself needing wisdom:  in a store, on the road, at home, or speaking to others.

When I need that wisdom, I silently pray, “Holy Spirit, give me wisdom in this situation.”  I don’t really know how to pray sometimes but He helps me to pray.

Sometimes within moments, a thought will come into my mind.  It didn’t come from my reasoning.

The good news is that it is an amazing solution I never thought about.  It’s Him.

4. He helps me forgive.

Inevitably, someone will say something harsh or negative during the day.  Someone pulls into a parking place that I have been waiting on for a minute or so.  

My flesh wants to honk the horn for quite a while.  I just say, “Holy Spirit, help me.  Help me to forgive.”  His love will start to flood my heart and His peace reassures me that there is another parking place close by.

5. He helps me make good decisions.

Decisions, decisions.

From Amazon to a college major or who to marry, they all carry some weight.

I ask Him to help me make decisions.  I wait for His inward witness:  “peace” or “stop.”  It’s like Israel following the cloud except the cloud is inside you.

If I follow His peace, the decision is always right.  

6. He helps my courage.

Fear dominates many life issues.  It is often a spirit speaking thoughts into your mind.

“God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind” (2 Tim. 1: 7).

Fear tells you that you are no match for something.  The Spirit tells you that you are “more than a conqueror."

Whatever you are afraid of today, ask the Holy Spirit to give you inward “power, love and a sound mind.”

7. He helps my future.

God knows your future.  Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed.  

The Holy Spirit knows your future.  None of us know our future.  I depend upon Him to pray through me with “groanings too deep for words” (Rom. 8: 26).

He may even give me a dream or a vision of the future (like he did for Joseph).  I can relax in Him, knowing that my future is in His hands.

Lean on the Holy Spirit.  Talk to the Holy Spirit in every situation.  Invite Him into your life daily.  He is, according to Jesus’ own words, “your Helper.”