Do you know that “wisdom” is one of God’s communicable attributes? That means that whenever we lack wisdom, we can ask for it. Angelo and I are studying the book of James in BSF this week - and have been thinking deeply about the contrasts between “Earthly” wisdom and “Heavenly wisdom.”
In a nutshell, earthly wisdom has no source in God; its standards, aims, and sources are simply worldly - and can actually be at odds with God. Heavenly wisdom is not something attained by men, but is a gift from God which imparts a divine quality of soul whereby man knows and practices righteousness. Heavenly wisdom is - more simply - a knowledge of the deep things of God turned into action in our everyday life.
We are to seek grace to work hard at whatever life calls us to do, and while it is God who calls us - it is our part to “use all the good sense and enterprise at our command” (that is, to seek and then apply God’s gift of heavenly wisdom.)
To seek wisdom from God is not to share in all His knowledge, but rather to know enough about God’s ways that we humbly and often confess that He is wise, and daily make that grand decision to cleave to Him and live for Him in the light of His word - through thick and thin.
The effect of His gift of wisdom is to make us more humble, more joyful, more godly, more quick-sighted as to His will, more resolute in the doing of it and less troubled (not less sensitive, but less bewildered) than we were at the dark and painful things of which our life in this fallen world is full.
The fruit of wisdom is Christlikeness - peace, and humility, and love.
The root of wisdom is faith in Christ. Thus, the kind of wisdom that God waits to give to those who ask Him, is a wisdom that will bind us to Himself, a wisdom that will find expression in a spirit of faith and a life of faithfulness.
Wisdom consists in choosing the best means to the best end - which is the desire of every heart that has been captured by Christ. So I encourage you, as did Solomon son of David, to always remember that:
The Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds victory in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones. (Proverbs Chapter 2)
Psalm 92:12
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord they will flourish in the courts of our God. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green, proclaiming, "The Lord is upright; he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him."
I KNOW NOT WHERE HE LEADS ME, BUT WELL I KNOW MY GUIDE. (Martin Luther)
What is TRUST?
Total Reliance Under Stress and Trial
CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO THE RIGHT, AND IT WILL TAKE YOU TO PAGE 5 -
Cedars of Lebanon
Pumpkins - the harbingers of Autumn and Thanksgiving pies!
