Day 23 - Issue 35
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READ: James 1:5 NLT
'If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.'
Life constantly throws challenges at us. Should we move house? Should I move to a different job because I’ve seen one that pays more? How can I resolve the dispute that I’ve got with my next-door neighbour? Should I tell my colleague that he’s annoying me? How should I go about telling my daughter that I think she’s seeing the wrong people? And a thousand other questions!
The Bible focuses a lot of attention on the subject of wisdom in both the Old and the New Testaments. Wisdom is very different from knowledge. You can have all the knowledge in the world but it will do you no good at all if you are not wise. Here James points to God as the source of wisdom and encourages his readers to understand that God loves sharing his wisdom with us.In the Old Testament we learn a lot about wisdom in the book of Proverbs. There we find down to earth guidance for life in a way that is absolutely straightforward. At times it’s a struggle to believe that it was written 3,000 years ago because it speaks so directly into our lives. Solomon speaks of Wisdom as being a woman who has built her house with seven pillars. And for him the fundamental truth was that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10).
Writing about 1,000 years later, James agrees with Solomon. Wisdom comes from God and so anyone who wants it needs to get to know him better. That doesn’t mean we will immediately become wise when we become Christians. Far from it! But it does mean that we have a personal relationship with the One who is the source of wisdom, together with an assurance that he can’t wait to share it with us. The Bible is never in the business of giving us easy answers, but it does point us to the One who promises to accompany us as seek to find the wise way forward.
QUESTION: What do you need wisdom about today?
PRAYER: Thank you, Lord, that you are so keen to share your wisdom with me. Please help me to seek your wisdom with greater determination. Amen.
Released on 2 Nov 2020
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