When Sir Edmund Hilary decided to attempt climbing Mt. Everest, he knew he couldn’t do it alone. He knew a lot about mountaineering, but understood having a good guide would make all the difference when it came to success or failure, even life or death. He paired up with Tenzing Norgay, who had been on more Everest expeditions than anyone. They reached the summit on May 29th, 1953, the first to conquer the intimidating mountain.
Our lives can be like climbing mountains. We go through valleys, scale the peaks and encounter storms and obstacles. Just as mountaineers can’t anticipate the difficulties, neither can we. But each of us has been paired with the ultimate guide, whom we can trust absolutely to get us through any and every situation. The Holy Spirit is the only one we can rely on to lead us through not only the vicissitudes but the joyful moments as well. He’s with us from start to finish because Jesus went before us and is even more intimately familiar with our path than any mountain guide could ever be.
Some say the Bible is God’s instruction book for humanity, and it does function as that, but we need the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to understand it, show us how to apply it, remind us it’s all about Jesus and convict our hearts of the profound truth of who he is.
Just as Sir Hilary would have taken a big risk by climbing one of the most challenging mountains in the world by himself, we also place our lives at risk by going through life without relying on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We can be confident of his expertise, care for our every step and ability to take us all the way to the summit – eternal life.
Jesus - Son, Savior, God 