Wisdom And Revelation

I really wish somebody would tell me what’s going on around here. The world seems crazy and chaotic – and that makes it unpredictable and usually hostile. If I could just get a grip on what is actually happening, I could plan and it would go well with me.

Seems to me that most people have that thought process. We want to understand so we can make a successful path in our lives. As much as we tend, in modern culture, to discount “rational thought,” or “information,” or “knowledge” at the same time we do actually value those things. If only because they make it easier to navigate our cell phones.

There are a lot of people who would be interested in KNOWing, in advance, the winning lottery numbers. If we received a mysterious envelope claiming that the sender wished to reveal that the following were the winning numbers, we likely pay our buck or two to play that number. We would consider the revealing of that information to have great Practical use!

Jesus gives us an important insight, at this point. Jesus, who nearly everyone agrees was a very wise man, said this: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” I affirm that statement – if only because I’ve always found it best to agree with Jesus.

Jesus is saying, as someone who is wise and understands important things, that there is something more important than money, wealth, or possessions. Seems to me that all the wisest people from many religious and philosophical traditions agree.

I came across this text:

“In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him,” (Eph. 1:11-17 ESV)

There’s a LOT going on here but I will key in on just one small thing: “spirit of wisdom and revelation.” 
Paul, after making several very significant theological statements about the nature of our personal salvation, then prays for his brother and sister Jesus-followers. He is thankful to God for them for specific reasons (their faith and love) and then asks God to give them this “spirit” of wisdom and revelation. The fact of Paul’s prayer life on display here tells me this is a legitimate prayer request and Paul expects that God will grant it.

What this also tells me is that God desires to give me a spirit of wisdom (understanding life) and revelation (to know things previously unknown). Given the context of the phrase, God wants me to understand the practical nature of what he has done in Christ.

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This is a place where I connect with God in my inner man. That God wants me to spiritually thrive and grow, here and now, for whatever time I have, and that available to me is a spirit of wisdom and revelation. That is a powerful grace! And recognizing it is a moment where I can rest in thanksgiving for that grace.