The Perfect Middle Man

Like most teenagers, I had a series of "crushes" before I ever met my future husband at the age of 22. The maturity level of these crushes ranged from my 1st-grade classroom: "He's so funny, Mommy!" (yet I was too shy to speak to him) to true appreciation for a developing friendship in the older grades.

Once, I was in the throes of a typical angst-driven relationship drama where I "like-liked" someone, but I didn't know if that person "like-liked" me back -- the age-old story. Most of you are at least familiar with it, if you haven't lived it yourself. Unbeknownst to me, a friend took it upon herself to inform the object of my "like-like" that I "like-liked" them, and she wondered if she could carry back a message from this person of "like-liking" to me, too. "Check yes, no, or maybe." (She didn't really do the check-list, but the whole scenario swam in that level of maturity.)

When I found out, I was horribly embarrassed. What had she done?!

In hindsight, it's not as though the object of my attraction didn't already know; it was fairly obvious what was happening inside my heart -- I've never been great about hiding my emotions. But there's something that changes with the spoken word, right? When the words come out into the open, everything else tends to fall rapidly away. Any veil over the situation yanks back. So there I stood in the limelight to be examined, observed... and in this case, rejected.

My friend was not the advocate for which I'd hoped, but in the long run, she was the advocate I needed. Though I couldn't see it at the time, her "advocacy" opened up a channel of truth that helped the two parties on either side of her to realize that our paths did not, in fact, lie together. And her actions cut short what would probably have been months of that relationship drama I was just talking about.

I'm fascinated with this idea of "Advocate." In John 14:15-31, Jesus introduces the Holy Spirit, the "Counselor." The word He uses is a legal term that would be appropriate in a courtroom, but goes deeper than that, to be understood as someone who helps someone in trouble with the law, an advocate for a lawbreaker.

So, Jesus says: "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever -- the Spirit of truth." In other words, I will ask the Father, and He will give you -- you who are a sinner, a lawbreaker, a violator of perfection -- an Advocate, Who will never, ever, not once leave you to fend for yourself.

He knows He is preparing to take His physical presence from the disciples. He will be returning to the Father, and then in the Father's time, He will come back (what we still wait for as a global church). Meanwhile, it's important that the disciples, then the wider circle of believers, then the church, His bride -- continue to grow and learn and strengthen their faith and their knowledge.

So He says, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of everything I have said to you."

The Holy Spirit has another role as well, according to Romans 8:26-27, and this is easily my favorite role of His, because it, too, introduces the idea of advocacy. "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 with groans that words cannot express. And He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

Each time we think about approaching the Father in our meeting places with Him, we do so with just a bit of fear and trembling, the kind of fear and trembling that brings Moses to the bush that is on fire but is not burning up. This is holy ground. I would say, if we don't have some of that holy reverence... maybe we should. Our God is an awesome God! We bring our petitions to Him with a sort of reverence that says -- who are we to make any requests of the Holy One?

And yet, that's what we are commanded to do. Ephesians 6:18 says: "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints."

So what do we do when we don't know how to approach the One our hearts love?

Jesus promises an Advocate, a Counselor, who listens to the deepest, most secret parts of our souls, and He carries those things to the great throne before the crystal sea. He approaches the dais, and He talks to the Father -- on our behalf.

He has our best interests at heart, and He discusses them with the Father. And you know what floors me? He never advocates wrongly.

You and I, we're flawed creatures, swayed by our own desires and human thoughts that are tinged and even riddled through with the sin nature. Sometimes we beg and plead with the Lord for the wrong thing. Sometimes we're so blind to the will of the Father, that we throw a temper tantrum when He doesn't respond the way we think He should respond.

The Holy Spirit looks beyond our words and sees our need. And then He asks the Father to move in response to that need. "The Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."

This overwhelms me. It fills me with joy and with peace, knowing that God is bigger than my mistakes, my wayward thoughts. He is the great Justifier. Where I am lacking, He fills me up. Where I am overextended, He prunes me back.

We can have confidence that He is working for our best interests, whether we see it or not, know it or not. The last day will prove it; in the meantime, we can rest knowing He has it in His capable hands.

Jesus says to His disciples in John 14:27: "My peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid." 

Peace. It was a common Hebrew greeting, a way of telling someone, "Hey, I wish peace for you." A modern-day twist on the greeting might be: "Good luck." "Hope things go well for you." "All the best."

Jesus claims the peace: "My peace" not your run-of-the-mill light wish for the best. This is a peace that Jesus will actively place in us. He surges past the polite, societal boundaries, and He digs right into our hearts with it. "My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives." He doesn't smile and nod and bypass with the barest glance and thought. He enters in.

He leaves His promise of peace, His promise of the peace that comes with the Advocate, who speaks to the Father on our behalf, knowing and actively pursuing our eternal best.

I so love that I don't have to pray a perfect prayer. That I don't have to be terrified that I'll accidentally ask God to intervene when that might not have been His plan. Oh, Tamara, you messed Me up. Look, you asked for something, and now everything just fell apart.

Lol! Yes, go ahead and laugh at the ridiculousness, because that is ridiculous. 

I do need to be faithful to ask. The Holy Spirit, the Advocate, will take care of making sure the asking is done properly.