Can we know the things we have not been privy to before? Is it even possible? We hear people speak of ‘sixth sense.’ I doubt its existence, except that it is the intuitiveness of the mind. It’s just that it is a quick feel of a situation that happens to be right. It is not a conclusion arrived at by keenly analyzing a situation. Hence, it does not always work. How many times have we had a quick feel of something and were right? Not many! But we pride on the few times, which is another matter.
However, the question here is, can we perfectly make out between the good and the bad not basing on intuition? Can we tell what a person is like on meeting him? Can we make out if a situation is feasible to us? Can we truly distinguish between a believer and one in sheep’s clothing? Can we know what is of God and what is not? If we can, then we cut down on our burdens by many times. We can safeguard our joy of the Lord and even increase it. It is practically possible, since we can eliminate all things that are dubious and fictitious. The upshot is our freedom of life is enlarged safely. Let’s consider the following. “And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?” (Luke 1:43).
At first glance the above verse might appear out of the ordinary to our discussion. But considering what led to it can shed the light. When Gabriel the angel was sent to Mary with information concerning Jesus Christ, she was also made aware of her relative Elizabeth conceiving a son so that she could believe. Having heard from the angel that nothing is impossible with God and wanting to confirm, she quickly ran to Elizabeth. She found out exactly as the angel said. As soon as Mary entered Elizabeth’s house, the baby in the latter’s womb leaped. The key to our discussion is this – the Bible says “and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.” She then opines the above verse as she praises Mary. She knew without Mary revealing and called her the mother of my Lord. It was not intuitiveness based on chance, but the exact knowledge of the truth. The Holy Spirit was the reason.
When the Spirit is in us as companion for all things, we can be privy to the things we have not known earlier. Yet, this works only for the cases that are meant to bring glory to God, whether they relate to the matters of His kingdom or our life. It doesn’t work when the mind is adulterated, for the Spirit does not cooperate. When He cooperates, He makes us strongly feel in our inner most parts the knowledge of the truth. It is the reason for those who are in constant companionship with Him to have lesser burdens of the flesh so they carry the greater burden of the Lord. Now, how can we be privy to the Spirit’s knowledge? There is a pattern to adopt.
- Transforming into sheep. We should first become ardent listeners of the Lord. Unless we are used to it from the Word, we are not appropriately trained to feel the Spirit’s promptings. One should be able to know how the Lord in the Spirit guides from the Word; He does it step by step so that our mind is not overly burdened or confused. And we must develop a heart that focuses on what He says to gain experience. The experience is not only for listening sake, but also for gathering wisdom by which the Spirit operates. The Lord who judges will initiate us to the Spirit’s promptings. Jesus said, “All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them” (John 10:8). If we begin to assume the Spirit’s promptings, we are in deep trouble; we listen to the devil’s voice. Oh, wouldn’t recovering from it be near impossible! Consequently, there are many faiths leading to untold failures and losses. And in some cases recovery will be impossible, like in those whose conscience is seared with lies as with a marking iron.
- Being confident. In others words, we shouldn’t be worried whether the Spirit will prompt us when necessary. We must not overly keep looking for it. When we strive hard for it, we use our mind, which signifies lack of the necessary training. Confidence appears only when we are mutual with the Lord. See how Paul made decisions. “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles’” (Acts 18:6). Now, the Lord earlier told him that He would send him to the gentiles. Yet, it did not happen. The situation had to come, i.e. it had to develop where Paul is able to make the above statement. The Spirit inside him prompted him when the time came. If it were not so, he would have acted intuitively and not according to God’s will.
- The beginning. “If the first piece of dough is holy, the lump is also; and if the root is holy, the branches are too” (Rom. 11:16). If you are sure your relationship with the Lord is pure and in the right, then the rest will follow. The key is being able to listen to the Lord from the Word. It doesn’t come easy. It requires bodily as well as spiritual discipline that includes concealed praying and meditating on the Word. Then at a certain time your transformation to listening to the Holy Spirit will take place. Now, you will know the things you have not been privy to before.