The Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Knowledge
“Work hard every day at increasing your purity of heart, which consists in appraising things and weighing them in the balance of God's will” (St. Francis de Sales).
Note from the editor: This article is part of a series on the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Read the articles about fortitude, counsel, understanding, fear of the Lord, piety, and wisdom.
One of my favorite things to talk about is the Holy Spirit, especially when it comes to business. I think learning how to let the Holy Spirit run your business is the best way to lead, but most of us are not taught how to do so.
We often pray in the morning and then leave God in the prayer basket as we roll up our sleeves to tackle the day, forgetting to yoke ourselves with the Holy Spirit. We move through our to-do list, and stress, overwhelm, and doubt creep in:
I’m not doing enough.
I’m not a good mom.
It’s not working.
I don’t have enough time.
I need to make more money this month.
Rarely do we ask ourselves, “Am I on the path to sainthood, or have I strayed from the path?” We let our fears and worries drive us. We let the noise of the world and our attachment to the way we thought the day would play out steal our peace.
But God, in His goodness, knew it would be like this. He knew we would frequently lose our peace, and he wanted us to be able to know if we were walking with the Holy Spirit on our path to sainthood.
So, he gave us the fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Living in a permanent state of these attributes is sainthood, it’s how I imagine Heaven will be.
So, What Do We Do When We Don’t See the Fruit?
Noticing when we are not exhibiting these gifts, which will be many times throughout the day, shows us our need to invite the Holy Spirit into the moment. Because of the sacrament of Confirmation, we have access to the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these gifts will bear fruit in our lives.
The Gifts Are Like Water From a Faucet
The water is always there, but we must turn the tap for the water to flow. Similarly, we must ask God to give us these gifts so that they can flow through us. We shouldn’t think that the gifts come from us, just as we know that turning the tap doesn’t create water. We simply gain access.
In my personal life, my spiritual life, and in my business, I often check in with myself: How am I feeling? How am I showing up? If the answer is not, “Full of a lot of fruit from the Holy Spirit,” then I will ask myself, “What gift do I need more of?”
The Holy Spirit lives inside of us, so we always have access to its gifts—but we have to ask for them. I encourage you to ask God! He loves it when we ask him for holy gifts. He loves to pour out his mercy, his grace, and his gifts upon us.
One of My Favorite Gifts Is Knowledge
I’m a lifelong learner. I enjoy reading books, taking courses, listening to podcasts, and learning more about Catholicism and coaching. When I want to know something new, I often pray for the gift of knowledge—that God will lead me to a good and holy resource that will show me the truth and not lead me astray.
God is so good; he often answers this prayer of mine.
While all the gifts of the Holy Spirit are good, it is possible to corrupt them. Sometimes, my desire for knowledge goes too far. I see it with my clients as well: When we make an idol out of knowledge, we put it before God.
We do it all the time, because it’s easy to get the process backward. We start to panic about our business, and we go to the books, the internet, the podcasts, the courses … and we look for peace there. I’m sure if I could just learn X, then I’ll figure this out, make some money, or have some success and feel peace.
We are looking for the knowledge to give us peace, but both peace and knowledge come from the Lord. We have to meet him first. We have to put our trust in him and find peace with him first. Then, from that feeling of peace and trust, we can seek knowledge.
You’ll know when you’re feeling a scarcity of knowledge, because it feels frantic in your body. It’s a tightness in your chest and a buzzing, urgent feeling that you have to learn something right away. When you become overly focused on finding the right strategy or the right niche or the best marketing platform, you are seeking peace in knowledge—but you won’t find it.
Peace comes from the Lord. Then, the Holy Spirit leads us to the knowledge we need. When we follow this order, seeking knowledge feels calm and lovely.
Working Closely With the Holy Spirit Is a Game-changer
Write a list or hang a beautiful print of the gifts of the Holy Spirit to remind you to ask for them. God wants to give you these gifts. I have a list of the fruits of the Holy Spirit that I use as a guide throughout the day to help me know if I’m walking closely with God.
He has called you to business, so he will equip you with what you need.
Having trust in the Lord and eagerly asking him to turn on the faucet of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is a wonderful way to invite him into your routine and feel the peace you long for in your work.
Sterling Jaquith lives in Northern Idaho and homeschools her six kiddos. She helps women build simple, holy, and profitable businesses. She teaches her clients how to rely on the Holy Spirit for business decisions and oh man, it's a much more peaceful way to run a business! Her Market Like An Evangelist workshop is very popular and is free at www.madeforbusinesscoaching.com. She also runs a life coaching membership for Catholic moms at www.madeforgreatness.co.