Posted by: Bill Hornbeck | October 3, 2011

Let us not only seek God’s presents; let us also seek God’s presence.

Today’s devotion comes from 1 Corinthians 2:6-13.
 
“6  Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away;
 
7  but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory;
 
8  the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood;  for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;
 
9  but just as it is written,

“THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD,
AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN,
ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM.”

10  For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.

11  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?  Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

12  Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God,

13  which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”  1 Corinthians 2:6-13.

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Some gifts of God are “earthly” that we can see and more easily understand and appreciate.  “And wine which makes man’s heart glad, So that he may make his face glisten with oil, And food which sustains man’s heart.”  Psalm 104:15

But, other gifts are spiritual gifts that we cannot see, and we have more difficulty understanding and appreciating them.  In the very last chapter, we read about some of these specific spiritual gifts.  “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption,”  1 Corinthians 1:30.  More generally, we have received every spiritual blessing.  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,”  Ephesians 1:3.

Who, by themselves, fully understands and appreciates those spiritual blessings?! 

And, there is more need for our precious Holy Spirit to reveal to us and help us understand and appreciate spiritual gifts than just caused by the fact that that we cannot see them.  So to speak, some of these spiritual gifts are either wrapped in plain brown paper or are wrapped in things that at first repel us.  For example, consider the following two examples. 

Hebrews 12:11
“All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful;  yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

“Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”  James 1:2-4. 

There are many experiences that we have that were repelling at first thought, but later, sometimes much later, we realized the spiritual blessing hidden in those experiences. 

But, there is hope!  We have the Holy Spirit to help us be aware, understand, and appreciate those spiritual blessings. 

In conclusion, let us not only think of gifts from God in terms of quantity, quality, and variety (even though that thought alone is awesome).  Let us also think of gifts from God as being accompanied by the Spirit of the Giver.  Let us not only seek God’s presents;  let us also seek God’s presence.

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