Focal passage: 1 Corinthians 2:6-16
I was living in Europe, my car windshield was embarrassingly dirty, and I had no idea how to translate “windshield wiper fluid” into Hungarian. Instead of asking for help, I decided to trust my instincts.
I walked down every aisle at my local automotive store, scanning the labels and analyzing the colors of the liquids. Hoping for the best, I made my purchase.
As I refilled my fluid and tested out my wipers, I realized I had made a terrible mistake. Globs of blue gunk poured out onto my window.
The liquid I had assumed was windshield wiper fluid was actually antifreeze.
And, just in case you’re wondering, antifreeze does not clean windows. Without a correct translation of those labels, I was lost.
I’m afraid many people read God’s Word and seek His will just like I shopped for wiper fluid. They rely on educated guesses to make sense of what God is saying, but miss the point.
You see, we were never meant to fully understand God’s will for our lives in our own strength. But God has not left us without help. He has given us His Holy Spirit, who guides us as we seek to know His will. Paul writes, “God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10).
The world is full of people using earthly reasoning to make life choices. They have rejected the wisdom of God because they do not know Him. According to Paul, “the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him” (1 Corinthians 2:14).
As people who belong to Christ and have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we are not without hope, and we don’t have to live with antifreeze on our windows. Through God’s Spirit, we “can evaluate everything” and discern the deep truths of God (1 Corinthians 2:15).