Listening for WisdomSample

Listening to the Holy Spirit

I always grin when I see a well-meaning restaurant sign where some letters have grown dim and you are left to strain your eyes to decipher what it is supposed to say. Often, the brighter letters can make some hilarious sayings, like when you go to a drive-thru and the r and v are dimmed, resulting in Die-Thru.

Whenever I see lit-up signs, I am reminded of how the Spirit illuminates the Word of God for us (see 1 Corinthians 2:10-14)—but none of the letters of God’s Word ever burn out. The words in the Bible jump off the page when the Holy Spirit convicts us of wrongdoing or reveals his truth in a fresh way. A certain word or phrase can sometimes seem to light up in a way that speaks to our deepest longings and heartaches.

Scripture provides comfort in ways that no human words can. Its words are not dull but full of power and promise as the Spirit helps us to understand what is written in the pages (John 16:13-15). The Bible is living and active, “sharper than any double-edged sword” (Hebrews 4:12, NIV). This means that the Bible teaches us what is good and what is evil. The Bible cuts away what is not of God. Through the work of the Holy Spirit, people are drawn to God through his Word, and his Word gives us the assurance our hearts long for. The Word of God gives us what Paul prays for the readers of Ephesians: “Spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance” (Ephesians 1:17-18, NLT).

The work of the Spirit in and through the Bible helps us to discern truth and wisdom: “The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Psalm 119:130, NIV). The Spirit brings understanding to our Bible reading and helps us to apply our knowledge correctly. We know the Spirit also convicts us of sin through Scripture and can bring us to saving faith.

We also know that reading the Bible doesn’t mean we will automatically understand it. We need the power of the Spirit, the power of prayer, and the power of sound study to help us correctly interpret the text.