2 When I first came to you, dear brothers and sisters, I didn’t use lofty words and impressive wisdom to tell you God’s secret plan. ² For I decided that while I was with you I would forget everything except Jesus Christ, the one who was crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness—timid and trembling. ⁴ And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. ⁵ I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.

⁶ Yet when I am among mature believers, I do speak with words of wisdom, but not the kind of wisdom that belongs to this world or to the rulers of this world, who are soon forgotten. ⁷ No, the wisdom we speak of is the mystery of God—his plan that was previously hidden, even though he made it for our ultimate glory before the world began. ⁸ But the rulers of this world have not understood it; if they had, they would not have crucified our glorious Lord. ⁹ That is what the Scriptures mean when they say,

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard,
    and no mind has imagined
what God has prepared
    for those who love him.”

¹⁰ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. ¹¹ No one can know a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts except God’s own Spirit. ¹² And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.

¹³ When we tell you these things, we do not use words that come from human wisdom. Instead, we speak words given to us by the Spirit, using the Spirit’s words to explain spiritual truths. ¹⁴ But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means. ¹⁵ Those who are spiritual can evaluate all things, but they themselves cannot be evaluated by others. ¹⁶ For,

“Who can know the Lord’s thoughts?
    Who knows enough to teach him?”

But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2

Dear God, I think the more spiritual maturity we gain the more we get comfortable with no understanding. Some however, including some who are friends, work so hard to understand. One of the things I think about are my friends who work so hard to understand the end times. What will you do? When will you do it? How will it impact me? They get so distracted by these questions, I think they forget to live now. To hone themselves into your image. They worship you well, but sometimes they are distracted from loving others.

Once again, however, as I throw stones at others, I am compelled to stop and ask myself how I might be distracted from loving others. Am I doing what you call me to do? Am I worshipping you well? Am I loving those who are in my path, or even near my path, and I need to go out of my way for them?

Father, help me to remember to speak clearly and lovingly to those who need you. And to those who are growing in you, to challenge them with higher and deeper thoughts. I’m around all kinds. I have some in my life who are just learning about you. I have some who are growing and have further growing to do. I have further growing to do as well. And let me say a special prayer for a friend who is struggling. You and I both know who he is. He has marital struggles. I think he has some depression. But I don’t see him sharing about it. I don’t see him living. I just see him as surviving. Help him and his wife to be healed. Help him to live. And help his wife to live too.

I pray this in Jesus and with your Holy Spirit,

Amen