Message: In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul is talking about
wisdom, but he is reminding us that there is a natural wisdom that comes from
maturity and experience, and there is a spiritual wisdom that only comes from the
Holy Spirit. We know Paul as bold and persuasive so it was interesting to me how
he described his first encounter with them as fearful, weak and without persuasion.
He was telling them that the power of his testimony came through the Holy Spirit
and not from him. He spoke further about how spiritual wisdom will only be
revealed to those who are looking for it. Nobody knows the mind of God. We know
the things he reveals to us by his Spirit, but the unbeliever is resistant and
does not accept spiritual things because he sees it as foolish. Our own wisdom
is like water in a reservoir. It’s helpful, but it has been sitting a while and
really only benefits ourselves and those we share it with. God’s wisdom is like
fresh rain. It’s refreshing, clean and pours out on anyone who wants to receive
it.
Command: Seek the wisdom of the Holy Spirit
before we draw from the wisdom we have obtained through our own personal
experiences.
Promise: If we seek God for wisdom he will
reveal it to us!
Warning: If we don’t seek God first, we have a tendency
to draw from our own experiences and assume we are acting in wisdom. We can’t
see God’s wisdom if we aren’t looking for it and our own pride will actually
resist the wisdom of God if we think we already have the answer.
Application: As I read this I thought about how quickly we tend to develop
an opinion or insert our own human wisdom about important matters. Everyone has
an opinion these days and wants to share it loudly. Even as believers we have
to be careful about what kind of wisdom we are drawing from. We can all speak
from our personal experiences and perspectives, but what is GOD speaking, and
have we even stopped to ask him? During my walk this morning I was praying
about this feeling I have been having like there was an obstruction between me
and someone I care about. I had been rolling around all kinds of thoughts and
ideas in my head about what I should say to communicate this, but instead I
asked God to evaluate my thoughts and shed light on them so that any imaginations
would be exposed and dissipate, and anything that was really there would be
exposed and handled. I’m so thankful that God stopped me from drawing on my own
“wisdom” because I am often wrong in my perceptions of a situation when my
feelings are involved. Things like this can’t be seen with human wisdom. These
are things that can only be revealed by the Holy Spirit and we can do a lot of
damage by assuming we have the answer. No matter how much natural wisdom and
relationship experience we have, we need the Holy Spirit to navigate us through
everything. My challenge to myself is to stop before I give an answer to anyone
(including myself) and ask God what he would want to show me about situations.
Natural wisdom that we have gained through experience is important and we need
it, but before we draw on our own tank of wisdom we need to seek the wisdom
discerned by the Holy Spirit because it is life giving!
