A Week of Growing in Wisdom

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.” James 3:13-17

Wisdom.

This word and the Bible verse are the only things that my computer saved when my computer shut off randomly. And actually this is a perfect example of what wisdom is. You see this is not the first time that this has happen to me since coming to Guatemala. This actually happened to me on Friday when I was doing an Inductive Bible Study on Matthew. I did not save my document and my computer shut off and I lost half of my page. This is an example of what not having wisdom looks like. You see wisdom is applied knowledge. I knew that this could happen and I had experienced the consequences of not saving my document on Friday. But did I save the document? No! Wisdom would have looked at past experience and saved the document to avoid the consequences.

Now going along in with this example, would it make sense for me to go around boasting about how I have become so wise when it comes to saving my documents? Or on the flip side would it make sense for me to be envious of the person that learned the same lesson the first time? No! Of course not! I have been humbled twice, why would I boast? And God knew that the second time I lost my document, it would be on wisdom and he would be able to use it to teach me a valuable lesson. So why would I be envious when God worked it out for my good?

And how much more do these apply to spiritual matters? God is continually having to humble me through various lessons. Be it through trials or just plain correction. Knowing this why would I go to a fellow believer and boast about the wisdom that I have found? God is the one doing the work, He receives the glory.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

“So teach us to number our days. That we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalms 90:12

In Ecclesiastes it is always reminding us that our life is a vapor, here today and gone tomorrow.  And in James it also talks about our lives being a vapor. And in Ephesians 5:15-16 says, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil.”

So according to these references we need to realize something very important. Life is short and we need to be the ones redeeming the time for God’s Glory. You see life is really short like Ecc says. Time is in the Lord’s hand, only he knows when we will be taken away. And the wise man realizes this and does what Ephesians 5:15-16 says and walk circumspectly. One definition of circumspectly is cautiously. We need to be walking cautiously always waiting to hear what the Lord would have us do.  And if we are constantly looking to God and following his direction of course we would gain a heart of wisdom.

In proverbs chapter 2 verse 6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom, from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Life is too short to trust ourselves with what we think. We knowing where wisdom comes from should go to the source so we can redeem the time. And through this we will gain a heart of wisdom.

Psalms 111:10, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever.”

The fear that this verse is talking about is not a crippling fear that makes it so we are terrified to do anything. This fear is like an awe and reverence that comes from knowing My God. I know that my God has created heaven and earth. I know that my God is holy and just. I know that my God will sit on the judgment seat and judge the heart of man. I know this and this should cause awe.

Knowing that about my God, that should cause me to obey what He has told me. Knowing that He is all knowing, loving and good. All his commandments are for my good. He is not an eternal killjoy. He doesn't make things up just to mess with us. Everything that He has spoken into my life is for my good. I should also take into consideration that He is just I should know that He will one day judge my works and I do not want to be found wanting.

The second thing that knowing my God should cause is worship. There is a line to a song that I really like. It goes, “How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?” That pretty much sums it up. How can I knowing all this about Him and not praise His Holy Name? That in itself seems quite moronic. It really is a no brainer. Knowing more about my God is going to lead me to my knees in worship. Need I say more?

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Colossians 3:16

Richly. This is what stood out to me when reading this verse. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly. Christ words need to dwelling in us. I almost see this like a house. A rich man comes to live in a house and he starts filling it with his riches. Soon the home is so full of the gold and the precious jewels that they start to overflow onto the street. And everyone that passes by get some of the riches that have overflowed out of the house.

God comes and abides in our hearts. And he starts to fill it with His word and soon our hearts become so full of the word that they naturally start to overflow onto everyone that we meet. We in a sense become rich in the Word.  And the natural overflow comes in the forms of wisdom, teaching and admonishing. It is just the natural overflow.

Am I filled with the word so much that I am just naturally overflowing? When I am speaking to someone am I imparting to them some jewel that I received from the Word? I am not. And why is that? Well it is because I have been rushing my devotion time with Jesus. I become so worried about the homework that I didn’t do the night before and shorten by time in the Word to do my homework. A Pastor yesterday said that, “Devotions are our one on one with Jesus.”  In short I have become a Martha when I should be a Mary.

Application:

I would love to say that is to stop doing my homework but I know that that is not the solution. What I really need to do is do my homework the night before. I will go into my room at 9:30 and do my homework.

“But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed be the wind.” James 1:6

A heart that doubts is a dangerous thing. Have you ever been to the beach when a wave was violently going back and forth? When this happens and the wind is involved the waters are dangerous. During these times normally the pull from the ocean is very strong. So strong that it is pulling all who enter deeper into the ocean, but what makes it dangerous is not the reckless waves themselves but the fact that the person being pulled doesn't even realize how far they have gone off track.

That is what is dangerous about a person who asks while doubting. They think they are ok because they are talking to God through prayer and personal petition. But their own doubting heart has made them go off course without them even knowing. They deep down are reckless in their thought process they are not rooted in the word of God and the promises that He has made to them. So they are tossed to and fro by their own doubting hearts. 

Why do I doubt? Well because I lack faith. I have no reason to lack it because the Lord has shown himself strong on my behalf many a time. And yet my wicked heart doubts. But fortunately My God knows this and He is more than willing to help us in any aspect our lives.