He Has You

Just as God gave you natural abilities, He can also give you supernatural ones. “There are diversities of gifts, but the same [Holy] Spirit…the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the [Holy] Spirit…” (1 Corinthians 12:4,7-8 NKJV).

The common error we all have as we read Scripture using our natural human reasoning is that we miss the truth that God has poured into His Word. Unless we have the Holy Spirit illuminating the Word, all we will see is dead ink on paper.

It is by the commentary of the Holy Spirit that we can understand the Word of God. Jesus prophesied, “The Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things…” (John 14:26 NASB).

We think that if we are given the word of wisdom as a gift, we will know more. But the word of wisdom is so much more than just knowing things; it is the revelation of principles that we should live by, and the guardrails for everything that we do.

Heavenly wisdom is what you do, not what you know. “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom” (James 3:13 NKJV). Doing good is better than just knowing good.

The word of wisdom is born out of heaven, and so is heavenly wisdom. This kind of wisdom makes the wisdom of this world look foolish by comparison. Those with worldly wisdom will think those with heavenly wisdom are the ones who are foolish, but they’re wrong.

Natural wisdom is no match for spiritual enlightenment. “Don’t fool yourselves. Whoever thinks they are wise in this world should become a fool. That’s the only way they can be wise. I say this because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God. As the Scriptures say, ‘He catches those who think they are wise in their own clever traps.’ The Scriptures also say, ‘The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise. He knows that their thoughts are worth nothing’” (1 Corinthians 3:18-20 ERV).

Spiritual gifts are for spiritual people whom God can entrust to use them. They’re not only for your benefit but for the benefit of all God’s children. The gifts are not for you but to be through you and to be useful to those who receive the results of the gifts poured out through you.

When giving a word of the Lord, do not worry about the approval of man. “But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4 NKJV).

You must be filled with the Holy Spirit to receive from Him the wisdom that comes from heaven. It is never the wisdom you naturally have that others need anywhere near as much as the heavenly wisdom that the Holy Spirit can pour through you.

You cannot ascend spiritually with natural strength. “…We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives” (Colossians 1:9 NIV).

The prerequisite for receiving the spiritual gift of a word of wisdom is that you must be foolish. God will pick that most unlikely soul by the world’s standards, that man or woman who is foolish and awkward, and it is them He will pour into the wisdom of heaven.

God’s purposes for you do not depend on your abilities. “God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise…” (1 Corinthians 1:27 NLT).

A word of wisdom is often a word of conviction, as it reveals all that is lacking in your life. Before God gives you a convicting word for another, He will first give a convicting word for you. Until you see your deficiency, you have no business ministering to another’s.

So long as you are convicted of the Holy Spirit, you are on the right track. Jesus promised us, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (John 16:13 NKJV).

A word of wisdom is always filled with the light of truth and the gentleness of the Lord. It will not have the abrasive language of a heated fleshly outburst, but the soothing words of a loving God who is intent on growing us into His own loving children.

If Christ is in you, then His nature will flow through you. “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy” (James 3:17 NKJV).

To gain a word of wisdom, you must first have the foundation of humility. The wisdom from above cannot be understood using the prideful reasoning down below. Heavenly wisdom must be interpreted with heavenly humility before we can understand it.

You may be getting older, but are you getting wiser? “Do any of you have wisdom and insight? Show this by living the right way with the humility that comes from wisdom” (James 3:13 GW).

Sometimes this gift is targeted at an individual that the Holy Spirit wants to reach with heaven’s wisdom and is choosing to do so through you. It may be in something you say or something you write, and God will use it to impact that other person.

To the degree you operate apart from the Holy Spirit, you’re on your own. “…Seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom…” (Acts 6:3 NKJV).

You might know when a word of wisdom is being poured out through you, and you may not. Your job is to be a willing vessel of God, and it is the Holy Spirit who will decide when it is the time, the method, and the place to use you.

The higher life of a saint is not in trying harder, but in simply doing more unaware. The Lord Jesus taught, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38 NKJV).

Sometimes this gift poured out through you to more than one person, and God will illuminate it to those who are ready to receive it. Just be true to His words of wisdom and relay whatever He gives you. Don’t worry what others think of you, but only that you are doing as He guides you.

It’s more important to be right than to be popular. “Am I now trying to win the favor and approval of men, or of God?…” (Galatians 1:10 AMP).

You may flow in this gift of word of wisdom as your ongoing dominant spiritual gift, or God may choose to give it to you less frequently, but always exactly when it is needed. Don’t try to pick this gift, but only receive it if He decides to give it to you for a time.

Never covet the spiritual gift God has given to another lest He withhold the spiritual gift that He has for you. “The Spirit has given each of us a special way of serving others… it is the Spirit who… decides which gifts to give to each of us” (1 Corinthians 12:7,11 NLT).

Never allow yourself to introduce  a mixture into the word of wisdom that God gives by adding to it with any wisdom of your own. Your wisdom is worldly wisdom and will only taint the message He is pouring through you. Trust that God doesn’t need you to add to His words.

Worldly wisdom only sounds good in the world. “These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Corinthians 2:13 NKJV).

Blessings to you always,

Paul Balius