Today I must confess something...
I don't have all the answers.
Sorry to break it to you. :P
However, I am grateful for the Holy Spirit in me that gives me the answers. Today's post is inspired by some sweet time I got to spend with a friend last night. She is struggling with some decisions that she has made in order to follow the Lord. But she is faithful and unwilling to give up. It is such a blessing to see her fighting for what she believes is God's will in her life.
This friend, as well as others to whom I have been a help or a guide in the past, always bless me in surprising ways. I say this meaning, they will ask me the hardest questions, and somehow, I can give them the answers.
Granted this power is not mine. No, sir! I am not the all knowing, intelligent being I like to think I am sometimes. Many times, I am struggling through the same or similar circumstances and have been wondering the same thing that they ask me.
In life, there are always "whys" and "what ifs." Why doesn't God just do it this way? Why do I have to go through this? Why can't he make it stop?
Or the times when we are tempted to forsake what we know to be the Word of God. What we feel, and what we reason in our own logic can make the temptation sound, look, seem so much better, justified, even. In the Garden, Eve SAW that the fruit was good to eat. And who WOULDN'T want that kind of wisdom? How can yummy food and wisdom be a bad thing right? WRONG. In times like this the hardest thing is to admit that the Word of God trumps anything you could ever think or feel.
Sadly, I struggle with this idea as much as the next guy, if not more. My mind thinks it is smarter than God, that it knows better. My heart find justification in the smallest deviations from God's will. And many times, I don't have the answer to my own problems until I am faced with a question from a friend and, lo and behold, the answer we've both been looking for comes streaming out of my mouth.
How did that happen? When did I figure that out? I didn't. the gift of the Holy Spirit allowed me to discern the answer, to pick out the verse needed from the VERY back of my brain, at the exact moment that it was needed. At times, when answer allude me at the times I want them, I find this tedious and annoying.
However, this allows me to always be leaning on the Lord for my understanding. I must step blindly out in faith before I see where I am going. The saying goes that when you can step out in faith, it is because you firmly believe that God will put ground underfoot or wings on your back.
Peter tells us to "always [be] prepared to make a defense [give an answer] to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." He doesn't necessarily say you have all the answers on flash cards, ready to flip through when a question arises. But to be aware that the Holy Spirit may prompt you to give an answer in the spur of the moment.
Peter himself had to figure this whole thing out when he and the other disciples received the gift of the Holy Spirit:
"When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language." (Act 2:1-6)
The Holy Spirit allowed them to speak the truth to anyone, whether they understood the answer they were giving or not.
How has the Holy Spirit given you discernment in a time of need? What answers are you seeking, and is God showing you someone around you in need of the same guidance?
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