On hearing different things from the Spirit

There is an old joke.

If four people read the same scripture without the help of the Spirit, they will get four different interpretations.

If four people read the same scripture with the help of the Spirit, they will get five different interpretations.

The glimmer of truth behind the joke is that if the scriptures are meant to be likened or applied to ourselves, and each of us is different, God will give each of us a gloss that fits the scripture to our needs and lives.

That is much like my asking for a google map to Plano from Dallas and you asking for a google map to Plano from Fort Worth.  Each of us will be getting a map from the same source, and each of us will have the same destination, yet each of us will get a different map.

In addition, there may or may not be a deeper truth (the fifth interpretation) that applies and that we can learn together and share together.

I try to keep this in mind when I realize that other people are getting other messages from the Spirit of God.  They have different needs, directions, intermediate goals and lives than I have.  Of course they might well hear different things.

Of course, like the new Apple IOS ^ map to Mordor, they just might be getting the wrong message too -- or I might.