by Timothy W. Burnett
God, in His perfect wisdom, has laid upon us words of truth that can help us to endure those challenging times and eventually conquer them in due time. He gave His spirit for pure cleansing from the inside-out, and so that we can let Him guide us through every situation. 1Corinthians 12:7-10 reveals nine different ways that God's saints can profit from the manifestation of holy spirit.
Word of wisdom, knowledge, prophecy and discerning of spirits involve revelation from God. Knowledge refers to information about something, while wisdom refers to the application of knowledge. God can give us knowledge about something, but there may be no need to take any action. We have the faith of our Lord Jesus, gifts of healing and working of miracles. And to top it off we can speak in tongues and give the interpretation of tongues.
All of these work that one and the same spirit which is distributed to all believers as they will to use it. God sure knows how to take care of his people! Different believers will be strong in different areas of the manifestation of the spirit, but every believer has the fulness of the spirit of God inside, with all nine ways to profit from its manifestation.
After Moses died, Joshua faced a pretty intense situation. He was called to lead God's people into the land which He promised to give them. Joshua went for years dealing with unbelieving Israelites until they died. He was a bit nervous about the whole thing. But God gave His word to him as recorded in Joshua 1:5-9. What an edifying moment this must have been for him. Let's focus on the words found in verse 8, "This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth. But you shall meditate therein day and night, that you might observe to do according to all that is written therein. For then you shall make your way to prosper, and then you shall have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of a good courage. Be not afraid. Neither be dismayed. For the Lord your God is with you where ever you go."
Wow! This is amazing information for us to learn from. During the age of the grace of God, believers are not under the law but under grace. Yet the priciple of meditation on His word still brings desirable results. By meditating, God means to speak the words to ourselves over and over again. Even if we have some scripture memorized, it's still there for us to meditate on.
During those crazy and challenging times of life, we can replace those doubting and fearful thoughts with the truth. We can also walk by God's spirit. In the end we are comforted, edified and spiritually more mature through our heavenly Father who loved us so much that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes on him shall no perish but have everlasting life (Romans 8:37).
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