Wisdom

 True wisdom is so hard to find in the world and in people. We seem to seek it everywhere. When we have a decision to make and we are thinking over the right thing to do, what are we really wanting? Wisdom to know the right thing to do. We seek it in so many places. Self help books, speakers, pastors, family, talk shows, the latest fad, and the latest bestseller.  Most of these things and people may have some great advice to offer. But how do we know? How do we know what we read or what someone says is wise? How do we know to really take that advice to heart? How do we know that they don't just have only knowledge? Knowledge does not equal wisdom. We could make the choice to follow that book, or that person and be led wayward again and again only to keep seeking the answer to the problem we started out with.  How can we know TRUE wisdom and come to recognize it?
  Ask God.
Ask God for wisdom and for Him to reveal more of His heart and mind to you. Read your Bible. Ask God to show you what He needs to speak to you about your life and pray for wisdom. How many times have we gone astray trying to go off our own smarts or the smarts of someone close to us, only to be disappointed at the results. How much better it is to have the gold, but then have the wisdom to know what to do with it. What a disaster to have the gold, and squander it because we were not wise.

The Bible says:
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. (NIV) James 1:5

How many times in your life have you prayed for God to make you wise? Such a simple thing, but we so often fail to ask.

We must also compare the sources of wisdom we get in our lives to the Bible. If someone is an "expert" on parenting, we must also compare what they say to the Bible, or we can go astray. If someone is an "expert" on marriage, let's then look at what the Bible has to say about what we heard, to see if it lines up. God uses many people to speak to us, Christian's and many times non Christian's. The test is our meditation on what we have heard and let in our lives as well as our praying about it and comparing it to the Bible. We will less often go astray when we follow these steps. As Christians we often fail to put everything to the test of our faith and forget that God is the ultimate source of wisdom. We often look to everything outside of God and the Bible.

I like to think of the Bible as the ultimate self help book. God wouldn't create a universe and people in it, and then fail to give us a manual. That's what the Bible is. We need to stop thinking of it as some old fashioned book with stories in it of battles and of Christ's birth, death and resurrection. It is so much more. It has all we need in it! Need God to speak wisdom to you about your children and how to parent? Read your Bible. Need God to speak wisdom to you about your relationships? Read your Bible. Need God to speak wisdom to you about your job, your finances, what to do next in your life? Read your Bible. You get the idea.

I'm not saying that some books and people aren't brought into our lives that aren't God inspired. God uses many things to teach us wisdom, and many of these are great, God inspired, and help us grow on our journey. But FIRST, where do we turn? If we are first turning outside of God that is a sin. Turn first to God, and turn first to your Bible. Pray He reveals His wisdom to you, and then brings whatever sources of help or wisdom into your life that you may need, and pray you will recognize God and recognize the sources of wisdom that are truly Godly. Use your God given discernment and God will give you the answers you seek. We pray to God about the needs in our life. We pray "God help me with finances," God help me to be a good parent." What is missing here? "God give me the wisdom to know what to do with my finances." God give me the wisdom to know how to be a good parent." "God give me the wisdom to use my discernment."
  Ask God for wisdom. Turn to your Bible and prayer first. Use your discernment to know if God is bringing you His answer in some form in your life. You will make fewer mistakes, know the peace of God, grow in wisdom and begin to know and understand God more.

Prayer:  God, it is so hard to find wisdom in the world. But I will not find it in the world. I will find it in you. Help me to be wise God, and give me listening ears and a listening heart. Help me to know you more and to each day see your wisdom with clear eyes.

1 Corinthians 1:19-21
For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the cleverness of the clever I will set aside." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.

Colossians 2:2-3
My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Ecclesiastes 8:1
Wisdom brightens a man's face and changes its hard appearance. (NIV)

Ecclesiastes 2:13
I thought, “Wisdom is better than foolishness, just as light is better than darkness."