Stop Playing the Wrong Game

In the church I grew up in, it seemed as though every single week somebody would pray the same verse from 1 Corinthians 2:9: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 NKJV). They would pray it with great reverence, close with a hearty “Amen,” and then spin it into a future hope—one day, when we get to heaven, we will see what God has prepared for us. One day it will all be worth it. I cannot disagree with that thought entirely, because when we arrive in heaven, we will certainly marvel at what God has prepared. Jesus Himself said, “I go to prepare a place for you” (John 14:2 NKJV).

But that is not actually what Paul is saying in this passage. The very next verse changes everything.

The Spirit Reveals What Eyes Cannot See

Paul continues: “But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10 NKJV). The word “has” is past tense—accomplished, completed. God has already revealed these hidden things to us by His Spirit. Paul goes on: “For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:11 NKJV). Then he tells us why we received the Spirit of God: “that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God” (1 Corinthians 2:12 NKJV).

It is vital that we grasp this. You have been filled with the Holy Spirit for power to witness—yes. To speak in tongues—yes. For comfort, for joy—a million times yes. But one of the primary reasons you have been filled with the Holy Spirit is so that you would know what eye has not seen, what ear has not heard, what has not entered into the heart of man. The Holy Spirit reveals those things to you. Not one day in heaven. Now. God has prepared things for you in eternity future, yes—but He has also prepared things for you in what Paul calls “this present evil age” (Galatians 1:4 NKJV). God has a plan for you now. God has a purpose for you now.

It is one thing to derive comfort by saying, “God has a plan.” Whenever a person says that to me, I respond: “That is wonderful. What is the plan?” Most people do not know. They simply know He has one. God wants you to know His plans—not just believe they exist.

Questions as Invitations

I believe one of the ways God unveils His plans is by asking us questions. When God asks a question, He is not looking for us to search with our mental faculties and capacities to find some clever intellectual answer. He is asking us to draw on the things of the Spirit.

When Jesus asked the disciples, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” they went to their brains (Matthew 16:13 NKJV). John the Baptist. Elijah. Jeremiah. One of the prophets. They were searching for an answer about Jesus from the resources of human knowledge. Then it was Peter—perhaps not the most intellectually refined of the group—who reached into the Spirit. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16 NKJV). Jesus responded: “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 16:17 NKJV).

It takes the revelation of the Holy Spirit to show us who Jesus is. Nobody truly grasps who Jesus is without the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me go further: nobody truly grasps who they are in Christ Jesus without the work of the Holy Spirit. Nobody truly grasps the plan that eye has not seen and ear has not heard without the Holy Spirit revealing it by His Spirit.

The Lord delights in setting us up by asking questions. These questions are not invitations to drum up an answer from the dregs of your memory. They are invitations to meet God in a new way. They are invitations that upgrade your walk with Him. They are invitations for you to step into a whole other place in your relationship with God.

Let God Define the Game

Here is where I want to challenge you. When you come before the Lord with your empty journal, asking Him for His plan, the temptation is to come with a pre-fabricated, predefined vision—or even a predefined set of terms. Often we have inherited these parameters from our parents, from our culture, from our denomination. Will God operate inside those boundaries? Yes, He will. But as Psalm 78:41 warns, we risk “limiting the Holy One of Israel” (Psalm 78:41 NKJV).

There are things God has prepared for you that you already know about. There are things He has prepared that you have a vague sense of. There are things He has prepared for which you have some frame of reference—other examples, other people who have walked a similar road. But there are probably things God is calling you to do that nobody else has ever done before. There are things He is calling you to be for which you have no frame of reference at all.

My challenge is this: allow God to define the game. Rather than inviting God to play within your rules, say to Him, “Lord, You define the game—even if it is a game I have never seen before.”

David Refused to Play the Wrong Game

I love the story in 1 Samuel 17, where Goliath presents himself before the people of Israel. This towering figure steps forward and essentially says, “Here is the game we will play. Choose a champion. Send him out. We will fight in the arena, and whichever one wins, his tribe will rule over the other.” The people of Israel looked at Goliath, measured him, calculated the odds—and froze. They were afraid because they were evaluating the challenge using his terms.

Why did they play his game? They lost because they accepted a contest that he had defined.

If you play the enemy’s game, he will usually win. If he lures you into a place of temptation on his terms, do not be surprised when he takes the victory.

When David arrived, he walked into that scenario, but he was more influenced by the intimacy, the worship, the meditation, and the time he had spent with the Lord on a hillside than he was by the size of Goliath. David refused to play Goliath’s game. He refused to play King Saul’s game—he would not wear the armour or carry the sword. David said, in effect, “I am going to play God’s game. I am going to be who I am, and who I am will allow God to be who He is.”

“You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts” (1 Samuel 17:45 NKJV). “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe” (Proverbs 18:10 NKJV).

Do not play the enemy’s game. Learn to play God’s game. God’s game is rigged in your favour. When you play His game, you play downhill. Come to Him with an empty journal, an open heart, and a willingness to let Him ask the questions, define the terms, and reveal what eye has not seen and ear has not heard. The Holy Spirit is ready to show you the things that have been freely given to you by God.

Selah.