Yet Moses said that “the Lord our God, the LORD is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). So which is it, three or one? Perhaps a simple illustration will help. A clover leaf has three leaves, yet it’s one leaf. A rope may have three strands, but it’s still one rope.

Together, God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit are often referred to as the “Trinity” (consisting of three), who are One in purpose. Each brings unique characteristics to the Heavenly Team—a Team that has always been, and always will be. A Team that will love you, forgive you, and comfort you. A Team that’s ready to help you anytime you need help.

Here’s how They’ve helped some of my friends.

God the Father

Even before Elizabeth’s father left their family, he was absent. “My dad was never really involved in our lives,” she says. “He enjoyed partying, drugs, and women. He would often disappear from home for long periods of time. And when he did return, feelings of guilt would lead him to taking ‘downers,’ and he’d sleep for a whole weekend. My way of dealing with him was to stay out of his way. I was afraid of him.”

When Elizabeth was nine, he told her and her younger sister, “I just don’t love your mom anymore. I’m not happy.” And with that, he was gone.

But even though Elizabeth didn’t feel loved and accepted by her earthly father, she can look back on her life and see that her heavenly Father was always there for her.

“I feel cared for and accepted by Him!” she exclaimed. “I love spending time with my Father God. He speaks to me on my daily walks. He’ll be with me till I die.”

If you have a wonderful earthly father, then you can imagine a little bit of what God your heavenly Father is like. Even if your earthly father has been physically or emotionally absent, your heavenly Father loves you with a love like no other. He’s the kind of Father you’ve always wanted.

Here’s how the Bible describes the Father’s love: “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).

God the Father generously gives you His love! And not only that, He sees you as His very own child. He will never walk out on you. He will always accept you and will always be there to listen to your concerns. With God the Father at your side, you are never alone!

God the Son, Jesus

Marc’s teen years were troubled ones. All he cared about was himself and his own desires. It started with shoplifting and drinking, then drugs, which led to seven arrests within a two-year period. He spent 30 days in rehab for alcohol addiction, but then went back to his old friends and old habits.

“During this time in my life I thought that if there really was a God, He certainly could not love someone who did the things that I’d done,” Marc says. “Yet nothing that the world offered ever could satisfy the longing of my soul. My heart ached for a Savior. My life without Jesus was a disaster, to say the least.”

Then one day Marc had what he calls an eye-opener. After snorting drugs with a friend, it dawned on him that he was a desperate drug addict who only cared about himself. “I knew that I needed divine help,” he says. “Trying as hard as I could, I couldn’t overcome my addictions.”

Marc finally got on his knees and prayed for help. “I felt a warmth and love that I’d never experienced before in my life!” he says. “It was as if Jesus was hugging me and comforting me. After that day I never touched drugs again.”

We all need a Savior, because we’ve all sinned. What’s amazing about Jesus is that He died in our place. He died so that we could live—forever! And if that’s not amazing enough, He died for us even though we don’t deserve that kind of sacrifice. And He did it because He loves us. That’s why Paul said that “at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:6–8).

You’re never alone with Jesus at your side!

God the Holy Spirit

Imagine how Jesus’ disciples felt when He told them that in just a little while He’d be leaving for heaven. Knowing that they might feel abandoned, Jesus made them a promise. He told them that another Member of the Godhead—the Holy Spirit—would come to them. He said that He would “ ‘ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you for ever’ ”(John 14:15). The King James Version refers to the Holy Spirit as “Comforter.”

My friend Lynae experienced the Holy Spirit’s comfort firsthand when her son died. Brandon had taken a year out of college to work as an assistant chaplain at a Christian high school. One afternoon when he was driving down the freeway on an errand, he accidentally plowed into the back of a stalled logging truck. He died instantly.

“We got the phone call that every parent dreads,” Lynae says. “When you get a call like that, your heart just stops. Nothing shows on the outside, but on the inside you’ve just been slaughtered. You’ve been torn up, but no one can see the wound on your heart. And it doesn’t heal overnight.”

After the funeral, Lynae asked a lot of “Why?” questions. She told me that she would sometimes cry until she was exhausted, but then she’d feel a presence and a peace. “One way the Holy Spirit brought comfort was through promises in the Bible,” Lynae said. “I wrote hope-filled verses on small cards and placed them all around me—in my Bible, on the treadmill, on the mirror, in the car—wherever.”

Lynae immersed herself in hope. “I had to keep reading encouraging things, because it’s very easy to let grief consume me and disable me. I kept those cards around for several years to keep me focused on my hope.” And when she couldn’t sleep, Lynae would get up and read Brandon’s Bible, which had survived the wreck. She said that this brought her great comfort.

The Comforter that Jesus promised was there for Lynae, leading her to truths in the Bible that gave her hope. And He’s there for you too. You’re never alone with the Holy Spirit at your side.

What an incredible thought: you have Three mighty Beings with all the power of heaven at Their command to help you! You have a God who is your loving Father. You have a God who is your Savior. You have a God who is your Comforter. And the Three are One on a mission to walk you through this life and into eternity.