Spirit of Wisdom, Knowledge, and Understanding
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the glorious Father may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,
so that you may know him better” (Ephesians 1:17).
In
the United States, it is the law of the land that once a child reaches a
certain age, he/she must be in some form of formal education. Rather done
through public, private or home schooling, nearly all children are required to
have education from grades pre-k to 12. Not only is learning a requirement for
children, but in order to perform many jobs, there has to be some type of
knowledge and skills attained. Therefore, most employers offer some type of
on-the-job training, educational reimbursement towards a certificate or degree,
and/or hire someone who has already graduated from an accredited college or
university. Organizations and companies want to feel comfortable that whoever
they hire is qualified to do the job.
It is the same way on the opposite end
of the spectrum. A patient, for example, wants to know that when they go to a
physician, that person has the necessary book knowledge and wisdom to properly
assess their medical needs. It is not good enough just to have acquired the
knowledge, but a person needs wisdom as to how that knowledge is to be used and
when.
The Holy Spirit helps the believer with
acquiring knowledge, wisdom and understanding. The Bible tells us that we are
to study God’s word so that we may be careful to follow it. The Bible says, “Keep
this Book of the Law always on your lips, meditate on it day and night, so that
you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous
and successful” (Joshua 1:8). God was letting us know that we have to
study His word continuously. When you are studying any particular subject, it
calls for you to sit down, read, think, and take it in. For most people, it may
require repetition in order to remember all that you have studied, but with
good study habits, the knowledge of what you have read will stick. It’s the
same way with God. The Holy Spirit helps us to study God’s word and not only
study it, but He opens our understanding to it.
There is a story in the Bible about an
Ethiopian who was traveling and reading the scroll of Isaiah. Even though he
was diligently reading it, he did not understand what he was reading. However,
God had a plan. The Bible says, “The Spirit told Philip, “Go to
that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the
man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked, “How
can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to
come up and sit with him” (Acts 8:29-31). The Holy Spirit led Philip
to meet the Ethiopian eunuch on the road so that he could help him to
understand the scriptures. As a result of that, the Ethiopian was baptized all
because the Holy Spirit told Philip to go where he was so that he could help
the Ethiopian understand about Jesus.
The Holy Spirit also grants wisdom, so
that believer can not only understand and be able to use the knowledge given,
but in order to know when to apply it. The Bible says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you
should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will
be given to you” (James 1:5). God never holds it against His children
if they ask for wisdom. As a matter of fact, He encourages us to do so and has
given us help to receive it through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We are to ask the Holy Spirit for
wisdom in ALL areas of our lives. Many people could have made better choices in
life if wisdom from the Holy Spirit was given first. Unfortunately, many fail
to ask and think that they can figure things out all by themselves, but then
their lives become a complete mess. We are to seek God’s counsel and allow the
Holy Spirit to give us wisdom to make the right decisions. The Bible says, “Blessed
are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding for she is more
profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold” (Proverbs 3:13).
Spirit of Counsel
“Seek the Lord while he
may be found, call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have
mercy on them, and to our God; for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are
not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord” (Isaiah
55:6-8).
There are many people who look to
outside sources to receive counsel for their personal lives. Psychiatrists,
therapists, psychologists, psychiatric drugs, clergy and even talk show hosts
are sought after to help people solve life’s problems with the hope of a
possible solution. Life coaches, motivational speakers, and counselors of every
sort get paid big money to give people advice, answer questions, and offer a
road map for the direction that their clients’ lives should go in. Although
counsel can be great, many have failed to seek counsel from the LORD first. The Bible says, “I
will praise the Lord, who counsels me, even at night my heart instructs me”
(Psalm 16:7).
God
has given us the Counselor to lead and guide us in whatever decisions that we
have to make. Whereas people can give counsel based upon their own opinions,
which may be of a worldly point of view, the Holy Spirit gives us counsel based
upon the will of God. His counsel will never contradict that of the Father, but
will fulfill the plans that God has for us. The Bible says, “What we have received is not
the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may
understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words
taught to us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual
realities with Spirit-taught words” (1 Corinthians 2:12-13). The best
part about receiving counsel from the Holy Spirit is knowing that He will never
guide you wrong. His words are of God because He is part of the Godhead;
therefore, total trust can be given in knowing that He wants what’s best for
us.
How
many people have laid on a therapist’s couch telling them all their problems
only to be a dollar short with no answers? They may go week after week and
still may not be able to come up with a solution to help whatever ails them.
This is not to say that a person cannot get advice. The Bible says, “The way of fools seems right to
them, but the wise listen to advice” (Proverbs 12:15). However, when
seeking advice, the believer should go to God in prayer first and allow the
Holy Spirit to be the one doing the leading. The Holy Spirit may indeed send
another person of faith to help guide the believer in the right direction. But
should this take place, one can be assured that this person will give wisdom
from the Lord which will never conflict with His laws. The Bible says, “Do
two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?” (Amos 3:3).
As
a believer, we are to live in accordance with the Spirit. Ungodly counsel has
led many astray, but to seek the counsel of God is to allow the Holy Spirit to
do the leading. We are God’s temple and the Spirit dwells inside all who
invites Him in. Therefore, we are not our own but belong to the Lord. The Bible says, “For
if you live according to the flesh, you will die, but if by the Spirit you put
to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the
Spirit of God are the children of God” (Romans 8:13-14). When the
believer accepts Jesus as their personal Savior, all of Heaven rejoices. The
Holy Spirit leads, guides, convicts and teaches right from wrong. He never
forces Himself on anyone, but with an open heart, He will reside and give us
the answers that we may so desperately seek. The Bible says, “Do
not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil” (Proverbs 3:7).
Spirit of Strength
“I pray that out of his
glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your
inner being” (Ephesians 3:16).
There
are times in life when the believer faces many obstacles that can be
challenging and spiritually draining. The death of a loved one, the illness of
a child, the loss of a job, or even the foreclosure of a home can drain a
person to the extent that they will suffer from depression, anxiety and loss of
motivation to do the things of God. Even the darkness that is increasingly obvious
on the land as shown through the local news, social media, radio, and newspaper
can cause many to lose heart and become greatly discouraged. The Bible says, “Men
will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world for the
heavenly bodies will be shaken” (Luke 21:26). Nevertheless, those who
hold fast in God and endure to the very end have a guarantee from the Father
that they will be eternally saved. The Bible says, “Because of the increase of
wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the
end will be saved” (Matthew 24:12-13).
The
Holy Spirit provides strength to those who are weary and brokenhearted. He
lightens the load for those who feel as if they are burdened down by the storms
of life. He helps the believer to be replenished in their time of need and
reminds them that God is forever present, and that security can be found in Him.
The Bible
says, “You are awesome, O God, in your sanctuary; the God of Israel gives
power and strength to his people” (Psalm 68:35). The Holy Spirit is
there to be the pillar in our lives when we feel that we can no longer endure
the trials that we will ultimately face.
Jesus never said that following Him
would be easy. On the contrary, He let us know in His word that everyone must
carry their cross in order to be deemed worthy as a true follower of Him. The Bible says, “And
whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple” (Luke
14:27). This means that we should expect trials and tribulations to come
our way. Being a Christian doesn’t mean that we get a free pass to travel down
a smooth road. Despite the trials that may come our way, every believer can
have faith in knowing that the Holy Spirit is there to be our rock of
stability. The
Bible says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer, my God is my rock,
in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold”
(Psalm 18:2).
The devil aims to discourage believers when they are at their lowest
point in life. He tries to whisper in their ears that they are a failure, will
never amount to anything, and that God isn’t pleased and doesn’t love them. However,
the Psalmist, David, had to encourage himself when everyone had forsaken him
and there was no one else around to turn to other than God. The Bible says, “David
was greatly distressed because the men were talking of stoning him; each one
was bitter in spirit because of his sons and daughters. But David found
strength in the Lord his God” (1 Samuel 30:6). Just as David found
strength in God, there will be times in life when a believer will have no one
else to turn to but the Lord as well. God is never to be our last choice, but always
our first for He has given us strength through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We
cannot walk this road alone because we are subject to fall. Nevertheless, the
Holy Spirit is there to give us a hand in order to get up again. The Bible says, “For
though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again, but the wicked stumble
when calamity strikes” (Proverbs 24J:16). All we have to do as
believers is rely on His strength, not our own and allow the Holy Spirit to
do the rest.
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