“The Spirit is the dove of peace who calms us, the gift giver who equips us, the river of living water who flows out of us to refresh the world.” Max Lucado – “Help Is Here”
Fifteen minutes into my conversation with New York best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado, I was surprised by how much I did not know about the beloved author. For starters, I was unaware that he had lived in my country, Brazil, for five years and speaks Portuguese with unlikely fluency for someone who has not practiced the language in over three decades.
Up to that point, our conversation felt like coffee with an old friend — lighthearted and patched with Portuguese sentences and references to the Brazilian culture, making it one of my favorite podcast interviews.
But it wasn’t until we started talking about Lucado’s spiritual journey that I realized our stories hold more than cultural and geographical commonalities. Like me, Lucado was raised in the church but did not experience a life-changing conversion until his 20s. Like me, Lucado faced times of broad spiritual and physical depletion after being in ministry for many years. Like me, he tried to carry a heavy load on his own, doing too much with little rest for far too long.
Lucado’s new book, “Help Is Here – Finding Fresh Strength and Purpose in the Power of the Holy Spirit,” is the author’s first book on a subject that is often as mysterious as it is misconstrued. Conversely, the Bible contains more than 100 references to the Holy Spirit. Jesus spoke more about the Holy Spirit than he did about marriage, church, finances and the future. However, many believers do not grasp the relevance and, more importantly, ample availability of the Holy Spirit to help them live victorious lives, regardless of their circumstances.
Scriptures refer to the Holy Spirit in over a dozen ways. These metaphors convey the different aspects of the help given to believers when the Holy Spirit descended from heaven at Pentecost. He is called the Teacher, Wind of God, Counselor, Intercessor, Helper and Guide, to name a few. And yet, because there is often much misunderstanding, taboo, or simply neglect of teaching the subject, many believers live defeated, not realizing the boundless help available to them.
But the truth is, when Jesus said he would not leave His followers alone, He meant what He said. It is a truth tested and proven by believers through the centuries: the very Power that made the universe is available to all believers who dare to ask for help, guidance and peace.
“It was not a Damascus Road experience for me,” Lucado recounted. He says that during a profound personal crisis, Lucado would get up during sleepless nights to pray. Nothing happened overnight, but slowly, burdens were lifted, miracles started happening, peace silenced fear, and clarity took over the stress. He realized the change was not happenstance. The promised Helper had intervened, bringing the serenity and strength he could not find anywhere else. The experience changed his life, and he wishes to share the concept with the world.
“The Holy Spirit comes with power. Power to make good choices, keep promises, and silence the inner voices of fear and failure,” he said. “Power to get out of bed, get on with life, get busy about the right things in the right way. Power to face the unexpected, unwanted passages of time. Power. This is what Jesus promised then, and this is what Jesus promises still.”
In a world filled with uncertainty and at a time when many feel burdened with stress and fear, “Help Is Here” offers fresh, practical guidance into a subject that was never meant to be mysterious but, rather, heaven’s tool for an abundant, purpose-filled life.
This article was initially published in Patricia’s column for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday, September 10, 2022. Click HERE To find it on the AJC’s website.
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Click on the graphic below to listen to Patricia’s interview with MAX LUCADO on the God-Sized stories podcast.
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