by the Rev Peter Willox, Vicar St John’s Church, Ben Rhydding

LAST Saturday, at our church, we ran a day focusing on how the Holy Spirit helps us do God’s work.

For those who are not sure who the Holy Spirit is, in the Christian tradition we see God in three different kinds of ways: the creator God – the giver of life- characterised by the name Father; the incarnate God – Jesus, God in human form who is an intermediary between us and the Father – characterised by the name Son; the imminent or intimate God – the God in our lives who guides us to be like Jesus – characterised by the name Holy Spirit.

As the day went on, the word “encouragement” kept popping into my mind. It seemed to me that part of the job the Holy Spirit does is to encourage us in our journey, often by speaking words of encouragement through other people. It took me back to some of those important figures who have encouraged me along the way; my parents; some of my teachers; some of my church leaders; and some of my friends. I remember particularly one friend at university who despite not believing in God at all – he was an ardent follower of Marx and decided there was no room for God or religion – recognised something in me to the point that he actively encouraged me to think about working for the church. Whether he believed it or not, I believe that the Holy Spirit was speaking through his words and I was encouraged to start the journey that is still going on for me as an ordained minister.

As I’ve been remembering my friend and others who have encouraged me along the way, I felt God speaking to me again this time through that small voice in the mind that still speaks to all of us if we have ears to hear what he’s saying. This time he was reminding me to go and do the same for others; to be an encourager and to help others to follow in the ways of Jesus.

Perhaps “encouragement” is a word we can all reflect on. Who is encouraging you today? – thank God for them. And who might you be able to encourage? By doing so you might well be doing God’s work.