Scripture Scribbles: June 12, 2022
the Gospel
John 16:12-15
Jesus said to his disciples:
"I have much more to tell you, but you cannot bear it now.
But when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.
He will glorify me,
because he will take from what is mine and declare it to you.
Everything that the Father has is mine;
for this reason I told you that he will take from what is mine
and declare it to you."
the devotion
Today’s Gospel is one of those Scripture verses that “did not exist” before my conversion journey.
Do you have any verses like that? The ones that seem so clear, so obvious, so revealing now, but before just seemed to go in one ear and out the other?
Today’s Gospel is so very real for me. Not because I’ve heard it in Church, or because I’ve read it on paper. Today’s Gospel is so real, so vivid, so clear, because it has actually happened to me.
“when he comes, the Spirit of truth,
he will guide you to all truth.
He will not speak on his own,
but he will speak what he hears,
and will declare to you the things that are coming.”
Do you ever think about what this actually means? In a tangible, practical sense? Like, what does this look like in our lives? It is one thing to know Jesus said it, it’s another to believe He said it, but what does it actually mean for me and in my life?
I can tell you what it means, because the Spirit of truth did guide me into all truth. He did not speak on His own, but he spoke what He heard, and He still declares to me the things that are coming.
A few years ago, while I was deeply lost and earnestly seeking, I opened my heart up to something, God (?), anything that was out there, and asked, “What is the point of all of this?”
The Spirit of truth heard me. And He began to lead me.
First, came the questions. Lots of them. Flooding my head. All of the questions I never dared to actually ask, let alone seek the answers to.
Next, came the clicking. Links. Podcasts. Books. These resources seemed to appear just when I needed them, providing the perfect, rich, most challenging yet beautiful answers to the exact questions I had right when I had them. Answers I could never have dreamt up myself, even if I had tried. Every answer was somehow revealing more about my own self back to me, like discovering a long-lost missing puzzle piece. Each one fit so intricately and precisely into life’s glorious, mysterious, fantastical design. And it was more beautiful than I could have dreamed.
Then, came the people. My brother just happened to hand me a CD called ‘Contraception: Why Not?’ just months after I had first begun to have any doubts about being on birth control for over 10 years. I drove 30 minutes away in search of a Bible Study to walk in and meet a woman my age, from my exact town, who was also driving 30 minutes away, seeking the same thing.
Finally, came the real, tangible encounters. I picked up Scripture on my own to surprisingly meet and encounter a real Person there, waiting for me. He revealed the deeper meaning of the verses to me, and called me to more. I felt a deep and undeniable desire to go to Mass, to go to the Sacraments, to receive the Eucharist, and to keep on getting closer to this Person that had revealed Himself, along with the answers to my deepest longings, to me. The Lover of my Soul.
So, what does today’s Gospel actually mean? It means that the Spirit of truth is here. He is very much alive. Right now. Listening and guiding, nudging and waiting, for you to ask Him to go deeper. So that He can lead you into all truth.
Ask Him today. Invite Him to lead.
And then sit back and watch what happens next.
Today’s devotion was written by Rachel Smith
