“And Jesus said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.””
—Matthew 16:17

When I was in college, a friend saw a poster on my wall with Hebrews 11:1 on it: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (NKJV). My agnostic friend asked me with sarcasm and disdain in his voice, “What does that even mean?” I looked up and read it. Though this poster of my favorite gymnast (Olga Korbut) leaping in the air had originally imparted strength and conviction to me, at that moment, during a season of doubt and walking apart from the Holy Spirit, I could not discern what it meant.

My friend and I sought to understand the scripture without consulting with the Spirit of God, and it became clear that the things of God could not be grasped through cognition alone. Understanding the Lord’s ways and His Word come through communion with the Holy Spirit and receiving revelation from Him. It truly is a gift from God. The apostle Paul wrote: “What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:12–14, NIV).

How ironic that the scripture we failed to understand was the verse that spoke of how we need faith, which comes through revelation, in order to comprehend and believe the Lord’s Word and promises! Beloved, if you or someone you know is struggling to understand the Lord’s Word, pray for the Holy Spirit to impart the gift of faith and revelation. Breakthrough is sure to follow!

Holy Spirit, You are my Teacher. Guide me into all truth. Father, illuminate Your Word to me today. Give me a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of You. Lord, You are the revealer of secrets. Open the eyes of my understanding, Father, and deepen my awareness of Your love for me.

Cynthia Schneider, From Passover to Pentecost (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.