And I (Jesus) will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you (John 14:16-17).

Awhile back I told you that my relationship with God—from my perspective anyway—began one night when I said, “Ok, God, I’ll try it again” and then awoke the next morning fully aware that Jesus was my Best Friend.  

Today I want to share my Best Friend’s next step that morning. It was the step when I experienced the Holy Spirit as the Counselor, the Spirit of Truth.

The previous evening, I had gone with a group from my large dorm to a fund-raising dance at a smaller dorm nearby. Residents of that dorm could enter the dance by showing their ID cards, but those who weren’t residents had to pay cash. 

Someone in our group got ahold of one of those coveted ID cards. We then proceeded to pass it along, enabling each of us to use it to enter the dance. (I figure the girl at the door didn’t take time to match faces with ID card photos because so many people were entering at once.)

As I recall I went along with this scheme without a second thought.

Now it was the next morning, and I was meeting the one Jesus gave the disciples long ago and gives to His disciples still—the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of Truth then reminded me of the deceit I had engaged in the night before. 

I remember having an unexpected deep, eager, joyful desire to go confess, to ask forgiveness, and to pay back more than I owed. Then, when I found the girl-at-the-door, I experienced the joy of being obedient and of the blessing it was to her—after she got over her shock!

I would have never thought of myself as a deceitful person before then. I didn’t habitually lie, having learned better from my childhood. But my learning didn’t hold a candle to the power the Spirit of Truth had that enabled me to act truthfully and resolutely—even in this small matter.

I continue to be grateful that I was counseled by the Spirit of Truth that pivotal morning. He not only enabled me to know and value Jesus—the Way, the Truth and the Life—but to know and value common everyday truth, too. 

Even though The Counselor got me off to a good start regarding everyday truth, I admit it is sometimes tempting to “adjust” that truth, just like back when I was being my own counselor. Can you remember a time that has happened to you?

Let’s resign from being our own counselors and instead depend on The Spirit of Truth to be our Counselor, not only when it comes to obviously important truth, but when it comes to common everyday truth, too.