THE HOLY SPIRIT LEADS US INTO ALL TRUTH.
Bible Reading of the Day: Read John 14:15-17.
Verse of the Day: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth” (John 14:16-17).
Deanna sat down on a log by the trail.
“Come on,” said her friend Joyce. “We’re supposed to stay with the group.”
“I know,” Deanna answered. “I’m just going to rest for a minute. I can catch up.”
“But our leader said we should never lose sight of him,” Joyce protested.
Deanna waved a hand. “Don’t worry,” she said. “I can catch up.”
Joyce shrugged, then jogged to catch up with the short line of nature hikers.
Deanna looked all around from her comfortable seat on the log. She knew that the hike leader had warned them to stay close together and close to him, but she liked doing things her own way and at her own pace. She liked sitting in the woods alone. Being surrounded by the sounds of the birds and the leaves blowing in the trees was so different from being in the city.
Suddenly Deanna jumped up. She could hear nothing but the sounds of the birds and the leaves blowing in the trees! The noise created by her friends and the hike leader had disappeared! She dashed up the path where she had seen Joyce go, and soon came to a fork in it. Three paths joined together. Though she peered carefully down each one, she couldn’t tell which path her friends had taken.
“I wish I’d never sat down,” she said. “I should have stayed close to the hike director, like I was supposed to.” She panicked as she thought over which path to take. Finally, she made her choice and ran down the one to her right, hoping that it was the right choice. Soon the trees seemed to part in front of her, and she saw a gravel path. “Thank you, God!” she said. She recognized the path back to the camp. After a while, she found the rest of the kids and breathlessly fell into step behind Joyce.
“Deanna’s back!” Joyce called to the hike leader.
The hike leader stopped everyone, then walked back to where Deanna stood blushing with relief and embarrassment. “Deanna,” he asked, “where were you?”
“I… I kinda stopped back there, and then I couldn’t see you anymore and I didn’t know which way to go.”
The hike director placed a gentle hand on Deanna’s shoulder. “Always remember,” he said, “that the best way to know which way to go is to stay with someone who knows the way. OK?”
Deanna smiled and nodded and silently vowed never to forget that.
TO DISCUSS: How is following the Holy Spirit like following a hike director on a hike? How can we stay close to the Holy Spirit?
TO PRAY: “Holy Spirit, keep us close to you. Guard us from wandering away on our own.”
