Whispers and Wonders
day seventeen
The Spirit doesn’t just comfort; He speaks and He acts. Sometimes it’s a quiet nudge you almost dismiss. Sometimes it’s a moment so unexpected it rearranges the room. Scripture calls these gifts. Not party tricks, not personality upgrades, but living evidence that Jesus is here.
Without them, faith risks becoming only theory. True on paper, but thin in practice. With them, faith becomes encounter. Prophecy opens a heart. Healing interrupts despair. A word of knowledge reminds someone they are truly seen. Tongues and interpretation draw us into prayer we couldn’t reach alone. These are whispers and wonders, gifts of grace that turn heads toward the King and His Kingdom.
DAILY READINGS
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4 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. 5 There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. 6 There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
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Follow the way of love and eagerly desire gifts of the Spirit, especially prophecy. 2 For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit. 3 But the one who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouraging and comfort.
DEEPER
Let’s be honest. Stepping into the gifts is often awkward. I can think of a few moments at school pick-up where I could have offered to pray. A headache. A sore foot. Someone clearly under pressure. But I didn’t. The reasons not to speak up felt louder. You know how it goes. We second-guess the nudge. We worry we’ll get it wrong. We wonder if God would really work through someone like us.
But I know He does. Again and again. Through faltering words and trembling hands.
Paul doesn’t say the gifts are for the confident. He says they’re for the common good. That means people miss out when we stay silent. That’s both motivating and confronting.
Something shifts when we take the risk. Faith stops being something we think about and starts being something we taste. We find out that God is not just true in theory but present in power. That’s why Paul urges us to eagerly desire these gifts. Not because they make us impressive. But because they make Jesus unmistakable.
These gifts are not spiritual accessories. They are signs that the Kingdom of God is at hand. Healing, prophecy, discernment, words of knowledge — these aren’t fireworks. They’re foretastes. They point to the day when everything broken will be restored, when all shall be well. They are the present reality of God's future world breaking into this one.
When we withhold them, whether out of fear or apathy, we risk shrinking the gospel to information. We settle for talk when the Kingdom is meant to be embodied. In the New Testament, signs and wonders weren’t optional. They revealed and confirmed who Jesus was. They made the invisible God visible.
This plays out in the ordinary. You notice someone wincing and feel that familiar tug, but your heart races and you think, “What if I’m wrong?” That’s okay. Start small. Ask gently. Offer simply. The Spirit meets us in those trembling steps. And slowly, the gap between reluctance and obedience starts to shrink. This is what it means to live naturally supernatural. Not loud or showy. Just real people, paying attention, and letting love take the lead.
RESPOND
Where have you sensed the Spirit nudging you recently, but held back? Maybe it was to pray for someone, to share an encouraging word, or to take a small risk of love. Sit with that memory. What stopped you? What might it look like to offer a simple “yes” next time?
PRAYER
Holy Spirit, thank you that you still whisper and still move in power. Forgive me for the times I’ve stayed silent. Give me courage to step out even when I feel unsure, and let my faltering words or small prayers become places where your love breaks in.
Also, pray now for our church. Ask that young adults in our area would encounter God in real and sovereign ways, and that He would lead them to find a home among us.
ACTIVATE
Take five minutes today to pray for someone specific in your world. Ask God, “What do You see? What do You want them to know?” Write down what you hear, even if it feels small, and hold it before Him in prayer. If you feel lead, share it with humility and love.
“In the current of the Spirit, even the smallest ripple can reveal His presence.”