This week I’ve been answering questions about the Holy Spirit. (To see devotionals you may have missed go here and search by date.)

Today let’s keep at it.

After giving some significant insights about the Holy Spirit, Jesus says, “Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27).

But why would he say that? Let me share the answer by way of a story.

In the children’s movie Pete’s Dragon, a toddler was in a car accident with his parents. Both of the parents died, but the boy somehow lived, and toddled relatively unscathed into the woods.

There he was adopted by a big, green dragon!

After several years, when the boy was perhaps 8 or 9, he was playing near a river and saw a huge bear. But the boy, full of gusto, let out a ferocious roar with the hopes of scaring him away. At the exact same time, the dragon had sneaked out of the woods and walked up behind his young adopted friend. From there he let out his own roar at the exact same time as the boy.

The bear, seeing how outmatched he was, scampered off like a scaredy cat into the woods!

My point is this: The boy had more courage and confidence because he knew he wasn’t alone; he knew that on his side he always had access to something way more powerful than himself. 

Well, in Christ, so do we.

If you believe in Christ, the Holy Spirit—the Person, power and presence of God—is in you. Like the boy in Pete’s Dragon, you can have more courage and confidence because you know you aren’t alone; you always have access to Someone way more powerful than you.

So boldly get involved in the work of the Holy Spirit: honour Jesus, talk about Jesus, and do the loving work of Jesus. As you do so, trust the words of Christ, and discover for yourself how life-giving and liberating his words can be:

“Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

By Matthew Ruttan

–“Up!” is published 5 days a week (Monday – Friday) and returns on July 29th.
–Bible quotes are from the NIV.
–If you missed it, you can hear my most recent podcast about the Holy Spirt, called “The Advocate,” here.