On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” - John 20:19-22

It is the Sunday of the resurrection, and we find the disciples together behind locked doors out of fear of the Jewish leaders. After all, if they had crucified their leader, what might they do to His key followers? The truth is that they could not escape the Roman Legions if they came looking for them, but the door was locked nonetheless. They had been told by Mary Magdalene that Jesus had risen from the grave, but they had not yet seen Him. Their world had been turned upside down, and they were unsure of what to do, except to be together. One wonders what their conversation was.

At that moment, Jesus appeared in person among them and His first words were “Peace be with you!” before showing them His hands and side to prove it was He. Needless to say, the disciples were overjoyed on realizing that this was Jesus.

A second time, Jesus said, “Peace be with you!” and then said, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” In saying this, Jesus is giving His disciples (and us, as His disciples) the same job that the Father had given Him: To bring hope to people who are without hope, in Jesus name, to meet the physical and spiritual needs of those around us, and in all that we do and say to point them to the Father who saves, redeems, and gives our lives an eternal purpose. 

The mission of Jesus now became the mission of the disciples and every disciple who followed. That includes you and me. 

The disciples knew what that meant. Like Jesus, they would face hardship, and like Him, even death. In fact, there have been more people who died for their faith in the last hundred years than in all the years since Jesus. Every day, somewhere on our globe, people die for their faith - we call them Martyrs. I suspect that this is why Jesus said “Peace be with you.” And repeated it a second time for emphasis. Even with the Jewish leaders who hated Jesus and His disciples, they could live in peace. 

How is that possible? Because God goes with us wherever we go, through the Holy Spirit. We go nowhere without God. We face no situation without God. Regardless of the situation around us, we can have His peace, because the Holy Spirit is with us always! Through the Holy Spirit, we can overcome fear and access the power of God. We are sent by Jesus to influence our world for Him.

Picture all the places that you frequent, and picture Jesus there with you through the Holy Spirit. Think of the anxieties, fears or situations you face today and realize that you don’t face these alone, but with the Holy Spirit. That is why Peace can be with us. God is there... always. You face no challenge alone. The more you remember this, the more peace you will have. 

Father. Thank you for your Holy Spirit, who is God in us. Thank you that there is no situation we face alone. You are always here, always with us. Help us remember your presence in our days and give us your peace, knowing that you are with us today, tomorrow and always. Help us to represent You well and make Your name great wherever we go. Amen.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. - Romans 8:26-27 

There are times in our lives when we just don’t know how to pray. Our emotions are raw, we are overwhelmed by issues we face, and our situation may seem to be impossible. If you have ever suffered from depression, you know what I mean. In times of grief or uncertainty, sometimes we just cannot form the words or the thoughts. All we feel is pain or fear. In our weakness we feel powerless, even to talk to God. All of us have times like that, when hope is scarce and we are tired.

This passage is truly amazing. We are taught that we need to pray on a regular basis, but what do we do when we don’t have the strength to pray? What is amazing, is that our God actually prays for us all the time. You see, the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity along with the Father and Jesus. These three are actually one, which boggles the mind. But it is the Holy Spirit that is sent to reside within us when we come to Christ, so we have a member of the Godhead who lives within our hearts. 

And the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with the Father. And the Father is one with the Holy Spirit, so He understands the intercession of the Holy Spirit, who understands us completely. Even when we don’t understand ourselves. Not only that, but in His intercessions, he prays for us “in accordance with the will of God.” When we don’t know the will of God, He does, and that is how He prays for us. 

Almost all religions teach that one should pray to their God. But only one has a God who prays for us. That is how much God loves us, cares about us and sympathizes with our situation. He knows us because He lives in us. The Father knows the Holy Spirit, because He is also God. So in all situations, whether we can verbalize it or not, the Holy Spirit is lifting us up in prayer to the Father.

The next time you are feeling overwhelmed, hopeless or at a loss, thank the Father that the Holy Spirit is praying for you. He is praying with knowledge of God’s will that you may not know. And be sure that the Father hears the Holy Spirit, who is also God (three in one: The Father, The Son and the Holy Spirit). Be confident that the Holy Spirit is praying for you. You are not alone.

Father, there are times that I don’t know how to pray. There are times when I am overwhelmed by life. Thank you, that in every situation, I can be sure that the Holy Spirit is interceding for me with the Father. And thank you that I can trust His prayers, because He prays for “God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” Amen.

“Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” - Hebrews 4:14-16 (NIV)

Have you ever been in a time of distress and a well-meaning individual gives you a throw away comment that is totally inappropriate and reveals that they have no idea what you are going through? I was once in an ICU on a ventilator in great pain and a colleague came to see me. After seeing my situation he said, “If I were you I would just want to die.” How is that for bedside manner? Fortunately, I could not speak back because it might not have been nice! 

We long for people who can understand us, especially in times of trouble, fear, anxiety or uncertainty. We don’t want cheap words like, “There is a reason for everything.” We want compassion and understanding.

The writer of the book of Hebrews says this, compassion and understanding, is what we have in Jesus. In the incarnation, He lived among us and experienced the full range of emotions, trouble, and situations that all of us experience. The prophet Isaiah calls Him a “man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” (Isaiah 53:3). When the creator became a man so that we could know the creator, He walked the same walk as we do - only without sin. His very willingness to become like us indicates His deep love for us - His creation. 

Because of this, we are told, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Why can we come to him in confidence? Because He understands us. He can empathize with our situation. He is not some distant God but One who walked the same earth as we do. So we are invited to come to Him in confidence knowing that He gets it and gets us. 

What do we find when we come to Him? We “receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Mercy is undeserved favor while grace is the ability to deal with the situation we face. These are no cheap platitudes. Rather it is exactly what we need in a time of need. God does not promise that He will remove our difficulty but, more profound, He promises to walk through that difficulty with us.

Wherever you need mercy and grace today to deal with your needs, accept God’s invitation to kneel at His throne in prayer. Do so with bold confidence that Jesus understands you and your situation. He is the best place to go in our time of need.

Father, thank You that You chose to live among us and experience what we experience. Thank You for sacrificing Your one and only Son to boldly and confidently come before You to find help in my time of need. And thank You for walking through my need with me. Amen.