The well-known author and preacher Max Lucado recently imagined what it would be like if we could order up life the way we order gourmet coffee. “Give me a grande-sized cup of exotic travel, cut the danger, and add two shots of excitement.” “I’ll have a pleasure mocha, with a dollop of indulgence. Make sure it’s consequence free.” “I’ll take a decaf brew of longevity, please, with an extra stirring of financial security.”

No doubt, a shop like that would have folks lined up for miles. But unfortunately, no such shop exists. Truth is, life doesn’t serve us exactly what we expect, much less what we order. Our name is called and the person behind the counter says, “Here’s a hot cup of unemployment six months before your daughter’s wedding. Would you like some calm and patience with that?”

Life comes infused with surprises. Some are welcomed, others are not. You can carefully map out the journey of your desires, if you like; but you would wise to do so in pencil, because there will surely be detours along the way. No one gets a decaffeinated life.

And neither did the disciples. At Passover, they gathered together with Jesus in the Upper Room. It had been a chaotic week, filled with challenges and controversy, but they still had reason to feel optimistic. After all, when they paraded into Jerusalem four days earlier, people were waving palm branches and singing, “Hosanna in the highest!”

However, at some point during that meal, Jesus decides to drop a bombshell. “I will not be with you much longer,” he says. “I am going away; and you know the road I plan on taking.” The disciples are stunned. Thomas, with no small measure of exasperation, voices what the rest of them are thinking. “No, we don’t, Lord. We have no idea where you are going.”

In effect, Jesus has just handed the disciples an extra large cup of unexpected absence, and they understandably object, “Wait a minute; that’s not what we ordered!”

“Don’t be alarmed,” Jesus goes on to explain. “I will ask my Father to send you an Advocate”—literally, “another Helper.” Well, you can imagine how that must have sounded to them. The disciples aren’t interested in “another” Helper; they want Jesus.

However, the Greek here is instructive. There are two words for “another” in the Greek language—the first implies something entirely different, the second (the one used in this case) implies something just like the first. When my daughter lifts her plate at dinner, for example, and politely asks for “another helping,” she’s not asking for something different; she’s asking for more of the same.

The Holy Spirit that Jesus promised provides us with exactly what he first gave his disciples. Jesus taught them; the Spirit teaches us. Jesus strengthened them; the Spirit strengthens us. Jesus comforted them; the Spirit comforts us. If you will, the Spirit is like “another helping” of the same.

Life may not serve up what we ordered or expected; but the Holy Spirit does. In a world infused with chaos, and filled with change, one thing remains constant: Because of the Holy Spirit, we do not face this world alone!