Understand

I know a person who has hearing aids in both ears, but he doesn’t hear well. Let me rephrase that, he doesn’t understand very well. I’ve had people with hearing aids tell me that the volume of the room in amplified, but it can make it harder to understand a single conversation. They may be hearing a conversation across the room. There are other times when I’m in a conversation and there is much more than words being said. The body language is saying something much different than the words coming from a person’s mouth. To understand another person is a bit tricky.  To understand another person means that I totally grasp and perceive what they trying to communicate with me.  I’m learning to ask clarifying questions to make absolutely sure I understand what is going on.

Paul writes letter to the churches that he helped start and get going. After some of these churches got going, they had some problems creep in and disrupt the fellowship. He lays some groundwork to explain his position of leadership. Paul is a humble leader. He is not a “pushover”. He is confident in his calling from the Lord. He is also confident that the Lord is speaking in him and through him. He explains God’s wisdom to the church in the early chapter and it’s important to understand his position throughout the entire letter to the church at Corinth. Check this out…

¹⁰ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. (1 Corinthians 2:10-13 NLT)

I’m thankful that all my thoughts are not public knowledge. I don’t always manage my thought life as well as I want. In fact, I don’t always manage my words like I should either and they are both well connected. This passage reminded me that the words I speak the understanding of my heart come from God’s Spirit inside of me. I need to continually welcome Him to take over my heart and my being so that I can have His discernment skills, His wisdom and His words. The Holy Spirit has given me wisdom many times as I say things out loud and then realize that I’m simply not that smart. I want to understand God’s Word and hear His voice so clearly that my thoughts and words are clearly from Him. I want to speak words from Him. I want to love like He loves. I want to live for Him. This is only possible when I let His Spirit take charge of my heart and my soul. I must empty me of me and let Him take over. My thoughts and my words will change when He’s in charge. My understanding of others will expand and my understanding of the things of God will expand as well.

Pressing On!

Dwayne