Common Sense
“Common” Sense
(#304 from Suffer Well Devotional Series©)
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Common: widely or generally known; found or done often; prevalent; usual; ordinary; familiar; regular; frequent; recurrent; everyday; belonging equally to; or shared alike by, two or more or all in question.
Have you ever had someone tell you to “use common sense?” Perhaps you might inquire of such; “Please, show me how to apply common sense when I am interacting with the Creator of the universe, who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine [think] (Ephesians 3:20), a Sovereign whose desire it is to reveal deep mysteries.”
But, on the contrary [to human wisdom], as the Scripture says, “What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart [mind] of man, [all that] the Almighty has prepared [made and keeps ready] for those who love Him [who hold Him in affectionate reverence, promptly obeying Him and gratefully recognizing the benefits He has bestowed].” Yet to us Yahweh has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even unpacking the profound and bottomless things of Yahweh [the heavenly counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
Do you understand; do you see the depth beyond “common” that awaits you? How does one apply common sense to things beyond asking, beyond imagining, beyond man’s ability to scrutinize? It is the glory of the Almighty to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings. (Proverbs 25:2) If you are sons and daughters, the blood of royalty flows in your veins!
Do not misunderstand loved one; common sense is not evil. Practicality it can be as scriptural as prophecy, dreams, and visions. When Yahshua asked His disciples to feed the five thousand, it was for a very common necessity. His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.” (Matthew 14:15) And as earthly citizens, their response to Yahshua’s direction was rooted and grounded in common sense. “We have here only five loaves and two fish.” (v. 17) John’s account, however, gives us a glimpse into what Yahshua was teaching about the Kingdom. Speaking about Philip he said, “But this He said to test him, for He Himself knew what He would do.” (John 6:6) Yahshua knew He was about to show His followers what it meant to bring the common into the Kingdom, in other words, what happens when the Kingdom invades the common.
The problem is that far too often the brand of “common sense” among disciples leaves little room for revelation about the Kingdom. Oswald Chambers taught, “Nothing that Jesus Christ ever said is common sense, but is revelation sense, and is complete, whereas common sense falls short.” We would add to clarify, “Common sense falls short in its usefulness for revelation about things which are beyond asking, imagining, and man’s ability to scrutinize.” That is where the privilege of being royalty grants you the rights to search out the deep things of Yahweh, things beyond common sense. “Who has known the mind of Yahweh so as to instruct him? But we have the mind of the Messiah.” (1 Corinthians 2:16)
What is common for the spirit man? These are the ideas that need to be scrutinized. What should be common for His people who are only sojourners on earth (Psalm 39:12), whose actual citizenship is Heaven (Philippians 3:20)? Exodus 23:2 warns that we are not to follow the crowd (the majority). The majority certainly have mindsets that will subject the “beyond” to common sense. Your assignment; search out what should be common for you, a Kingdom citizen. A good start would be to find out what is generally accepted among men, and run as fast as you can in the opposite direction.
Yet they obeyed not, nor inclined their ear, but walked every one in the imagination of their own evil heart. (Jeremiah 11:8)