The Sixth Sense
By Elin Henderson
“We
have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, 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, expressing
spiritual truths in spiritual words.” 1
Corinthians 2:12,13 (NIV)
Did you know that sharks actually
have six and even some say seven senses?? We poor humans rank in with only the
boring five. Yes, I watched and learned this from “Shark Week” on the Discovery
Channel. Apparently they have these little pores on the front of their snouts
called Ampullae of Lorenzini. These pick up electromagnetic waves of the earth
and the other fish/animals around them, and allow them to have a sort of radar
that guides them to prey. Now, a lot of you moms out there are shouting, “HEY!
Wait a minute! We have this sixth sense, too!” We may not have any Ampullae of
Lorenzini but we know when a kid is getting into mischief even with our backs
to them. Not to mention that niggling feeling that tells us, “It’s just a
little TOO quiet in here!” So, maybe we rank up there with the sharks, after
all!
Either way, I was challenged the
other day to the fact that we, as believers, are called to act on a type of sixth
sense. This sense is a “spiritual sense.” It tells us when something else is
going on behind the scenes. It is the Holy Spirit niggling our spirits and
saying, “Look beyond the obvious.” When we are meeting with people throughout
the day, whether it is in a ministry place, at home, at work, or at play, may
we have a spiritual sixth sense that sees the deep-seated issue that perhaps is
coming out in an odd form of behavior. It may just change the way we react to
the situation!
So, let’s keep our Ampullae-of-the-Spirit sensitive to the waters around us. As we
encounter different individuals (of all shapes and sizes) throughout the day,
may we be quick to allow this sixth sense to take over and guide us to what is
really going on and how to respond appropriately!
GOING DEEPER:
1. Have you experienced this
spiritual sense before? In what way?
2. How can we sharpen this
sense? What “spiritual” practices can we be putting in place to help us develop
this “spiritual sense”?
FURTHER READING:
Oakwood’s
missionaries Elin Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as
church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique,
Africa. Elin is mother to fourteen-year-old
Callie and eleven-year-old Elias.
