Use Your Brain

Eph 5:17 "Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." NKJV

This verse carries on from the previous thought. Paul was telling the Ephesian church to have a diligent walk, to walk carefully…don't be fools, don't be unwise, but be wise, be skilled be learned and walk with diligence. Then he followed up with this, as a result, don't be unwise but understand the will of the Lord. Now the word for unwise actually means "stupid". And the word for understand means to "set or join together in your mind". So this verse could read: "As a result, don't be stupid, but use your brain to know God's purpose."

The amazing thing is that God wants me to know His mind. God wants me to know what is on His heart. God wants me to determine His desires. To fail to do this is stupidity. Instead, He has given me a brain. He has given me a mind that needs to be used. It isn't an emotion. It isn't a feeling. It isn't something that just comes upon me. It is cognitive. It is cerebral. It is something that I can grasp with my finite gray matter.

Sometimes I think that Christians have a tendency to minimize their ability to think. We say that we are "Spirit lead" and this means that there is this inner sense that we should do something. Well guess what? God uses His Spirit to work in our brains. He wants us to fully understand what He is up to. It isn't a guessing game. It is a mental exercise where we actually use our minds to search His mind. And how do we do that? His word. He has given all that we need to know His mind and to understand His will in the direct communication that He has given us in the Bible. Does this eliminate the Holy Spirit? No. It empowers what He does. "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…".John 16 Next chapter: "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth." John 17. This is why it is so huge that we get into the Bible. This is why it is so important that I spend time digging deep. Because, when you combine the power of God's word with the work of the Holy Spirit, what do you get? An understanding of the will of the Lord.

Keep digging.