DEVOTION FOR FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2017
Waiting for God to Reveal What is Hidden
We are often waiting for information to be revealed. What grade did you earn on the recent exam? Which movie will win the Oscar? What did your friend buy you for Christmas? Whom will your favorite sports team draft in the first round? Which politician will win the election? Wait and see!
In the same way, spiritual waiting involves waiting for God to reveal what is hidden. As we continue to examine foundational aspects of what it means to wait on the Lord, we see the contrast
between His infiniteness compared to our finiteness. He always knows what we do not and He can do what we cannot. He’s always in control, and His thoughts and ways are far higher than ours (Isa. 55:8–9). From this vantage point, waiting on Him is always wise.
In today’s reading, Paul made this point in the context of evaluating human motivations and actions (v. 5). Ultimately, merely human opinions and judgments don’t carry any weight (v. 3). God will bring to light all that is hidden, whether we like it or not, and His judgments are entirely truthful. The Corinthians had been quarreling about church leaders, and Paul had been accused of exalting himself and of not being a genuine apostle. In response, he asserted that leadership was not about pride or position but about being a servant of Christ entrusted with the mystery of the gospel (v. 1).
As a minister of the gospel, Paul acknowledged God alone could know his heart (v. 2). The opinions of others, and even of his own conscience, meant nothing compared to the accurate, omniscient judgment of His Lord and Savior (v. 4). The only reward he sought was “praise from God” (v. 5)!
APPLY THE WORD
Waiting on the Lord and deferring to Him is countercultural in a society that promotes self and rejects patience. One way to focus on waiting for the Lord is by memorizing His Word. Any of our passages this month would be a good option, and you could start with our key verse for today, 1 Corinthians 4:5.
Today in the Word is a production of Moody Global Ministries
