Wisdom. It is a very important attribute to God for each of us to have. I have a concordance at home, and the number of times the word "wisdom" shows up in the bible was more than I could count.
Someone once described wisdom to me as such: "Wisdom is the application of the knowledge you have learned." In other words - applying to your life what you have learned from the bible. Or, making use of the knowledge you have attained. This is wisdom.
According to http://www.dictionary.com/, wisdom is described, "The quality of being wise; knowledge, and the capacity to make due use of it; knowledge of the best ends and the best means; discernment and judgment; discretion; sagacity; skill; dexterity."
Wisdom is so important for us to have, that God places a high value on it. It's less a suggestion, and nearly a command for us to attain it in order to live long and prosperous lives. "Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. (Prov 3:13-15 13)
We're not talking about wisdom in general or worldly wisdom. We are talking about wisdom bestowed on us by God Himself. If we apply God's teachings to our lives, it's really no wonder we can prosper, for the lessons taught through the experiences of so many bible characters teaches us how to live our own lives. And it goes without saying that Christ's teachings in the New Testament are extraordinarily important!! Unlike learning trigonometry in high school and then getting a job in data entry, where it is never used, we MUST seek God's wisdom in our day to day lives. Daily, we battle worldly values and desires, and we are constantly having to separate ourselves from where the world would lead us. And how are we to know the difference between worldly values and God's values if we don't read our bibles and apply His word to our lives?
As I did a word search on wisdom, it really hit home how desperately important God wants us to seek wisdom and to live by wisdom. Proverbs 4:6-7 reads, “Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom.” There is such an urgency in those words. As much as we thirst for God, we must also thirst for His wisdom. It is part of our life blood. There is so much action placed behind the attainment of wisdom. Love wisdom. Get wisdom. Wisdom will watch over you, protect you. James 1:5 reads: “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.”
So while we all continue to seek a closer relationship with God on a daily basis, we must also seek His wisdom with just as much fervor. At least three times in Proverbs alone, wisdom is valued higher than silver, gold and rubies. “Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” (Proverbs 3:15)
“Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. (Prov 8:10-11)
“How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!” (Prov. 16:16)
If you think about it, if you knew you were guaranteed to find a whole lot of gold, rubies and silver, would you not do all you could do to attain such wealth? Wouldn't you do all the research you could, and enlist your trustworthy friends and go seek it out with relish?
Ask God for wisdom. Seek it out NOW and with urgency! Treat it like precious gold and rubies. And your rewards will be greater than you could ever imagine.
Prayer request: For guidance in our every day lives.
Prayer: Father, in Your holy name, we each ask You to give us wisdom – Your wisdom, so we can each have a deeper understanding of who You are and what You expect from us in every circumstance and situation in our lives. Just as it is written in James, please give each reader a generous portion of Your wisdom. Help us to continue to seek it out, passionately, in Your word every day, as we would seek out precious jewels. Amen
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