Get Wisdom

Wisdom. What is wisdom? What makes one wise? We see that word so many times throughout the Bible, especially in Proverbs. Wisdom is more than earthly knowledge. Knowledge is an understanding of how to do something physically or how something works physically. Wisdom is understanding of how to do something spiritually or how things work spiritually. True wisdom comes ONLY from God. James says that God gives it abundantly and without reproach – that means He enjoys giving us wisdom and doesn’t look down on us for asking for it. He knows just how much we need his wisdom. God’s wisdom, when sought and USED will show us how to handle EVERY situation in a way that glorifies Him and magnifies His kingdom. If there is a choice to be made, wisdom is needed.

⁵If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. ⁶But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. ⁷For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; ⁸he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

James 1:5-8 / New King James Version (NKJV)

When we ask for wisdom, we must ask in faith with NO DOUBTING. We must use the opportunities, that are presented by God, to train us to hear His voice.  Evidence of our own belief is in our obedience. We can’t live our lives in disobedience to God’s will and say we truly believe God. Actions speak louder than words. Disobedience, fear, and doubt all run together. They are best friends. Where one is allowed to roam free and wreak havoc, the others are sure to soon follow.

I’ve seen it in my own life. I’d have a situation come up, ask God for wisdom, receive His understanding, and then choose to handle it another way because I didn’t like how I thought the results were going to turn out. My disobedience – sin #1 – kept me from clearly hearing the Lord later and led to more disobedience, sin, and even a selfish/rotten attitude until I confessed and He washed me clean. It’s this cycle that James is referring to that causes us to be unstable in ALL of our ways.

I’ve heard some friends joke that if your relationship status on Facebook changes more than twice a year, it should automatically default to unstable. How often does our relationship status with the Lord change? How often do we go from “Happily Married” to “It’s complicated?” Very often, our relationship with the Lord can easily slip into unstable.

Solomon is a great example. Early in life, God gave him wisdom and Solomon used it. But after a while, he began to believe that he was wise because of himself… he was “wise in his own eyes” and it led to a long slow destruction filled with disobedience, debauchery, and idol worship. He became unstable  because he stopped obeying God which is a symptom of his lack of belief in God.

Are you trusting God? Are you willing to be obedient? Even when He tells you to adopt a SERVANT’S attitude? It’s easy to obey God when we can see how the obedience will lead to immediate, apparent, abundant blessing. It’s hard to obey God when He asks us to lower ourselves, humble ourselves, and serve others.  It’s especially hard when He asks us to serve others in our FIRST ministry, our FAMILY.