Good Day!
Is it possible to wake up and greet the sunrise in anticipation of what the day will hold? Yes, I believe it is. In my last Morning Briefing, that is the claim I was making...the very ground I was staking out.
['Missed it? "I've Got a Gift for You,": https://conta.cc/47pTThk]
In our daily prayers, I suggested we ought ask God for wisdom, favor and blessing as it is biblical to do so. Why wisdom? Isn't the whole notion of wisdom archaic?
Uh-uh, nope, and absolutely not.
In a recent reading of the second chapter of Proverbs, something caught my eye, and then kept coming back to me, again and again. This is one way the Holy Spirit gets my attention, prompting more careful consideration and study. Solomon said of wisdom,
->“if you look for it as silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:4-5
‘If you look for it as silver…huh, how does one find silver?’ I thought. I put the words in the search engine of my phone, and got my answer--you have to mine silver. Clearly, that means it is not come by easily. My Bible referenced Job chapter 28 which says, “There is a mine for silver and a place where gold is refined. Iron is taken from the earth, and copper is smelted from ore. Man puts an end to the darkness; he searches the farthest recesses for ore in the blackest darkness. Far from where people dwell he cuts a shaft, in places forgotten by the foot of man . . . He tunnels through the rock…”1 All this talk of metals, recesses and darkness, and yet of course, wisdom is found in God, not in any mine.
What did Solomon mean to ‘look for wisdom as silver’?
First of all, a person only looks for silver because it is valuable…so God is clearly saying that we should value wisdom—actually, we should highly esteem it and seek after it.
When I was about 10 years old, I was challenged to memorize much of James chapter one from the paraphrased Bible "Good News for Modern Man." To this day, I can remember reciting those much-loved verses in a rather lilting tone--why lilting, I'm not sure, but even now, I know the words, 'From James a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the Jewish tribes scattered abroad. Greetings! Dear brothers, is your life full of difficulties and temptations? Then be happy, for when the way is rough your patience has a chance to grow, so let it grow and don't try to squirm out of your problems. For when your patience is finally in full bloom, you will be ready for anything, strong in character, full and complete. If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you....' At the young age of 10, I began to understand that if I needed wisdom, I should ask God and He would give it to me.
In full, James wrote, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.2 As stated, God gives wisdom to his children when they ask, and have the faith that he will supply it.
What is wisdom?
Wisdom that comes from God includes several elements:
>understanding - what is true, right, lasting
>discretion - the wherewithal to decide responsibly
>prudence - handling practical matters, exercising good judgment, common sense, careful about one's conduct
>discernment - keen insight
>knowledge - the body of wise teaching
>action - in exercising discretion, prudence, or discernment
It may surprise you to see 'action' linked with wisdom, but what good is wisdom, if once we see things clearly or know the way we should go, but fail to act? Wisdom must impact our actions, our activity.
One more thing about wisdom that is quite empowering - when we ask God for wisdom, we do so knowing that our all-knowing God is outside of time and space, and therefore sees 'around the corners' we cannot. Friends, when we prayerfully ask our Lord the way we should go, we know that in his goodness, he is directing us according to things about which we may be totally unaware. With that truth in mind, consider these familiar words again: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways, look to him, and he will show you the way to go or "make your paths straight"!3
On my flight to Boston ahead of Danny's Muay Thai fight, I have him on my mind.
I remember the time I took Danny to Park City, Utah, to visit his best friend, Cameron, who had moved there with his family. We drove by an old snow-covered silver mine, which drew my rapt attention!
My friend, Jeff, Cameron's dad told me of the time he had taken the children down into the mine on a ‘tour’, so to speak. They took an elevator down, down, into the recesses of the earth where it was pitch black, of course, save for their ‘miner’s helmets’. Then they took open railcars along the floor of the mine beneath the town of Park City, Utah. (It was my own personal nightmare, and my breathing grew shallow just listening--claustrophobia welling up in me!) Yet, that was what Solomon was talking about—those miners of yesteryear, the ones that were drawn to the area to settle it originally, came for those rich silver veins in the Utah mountains. Think of it, those original pioneers risked a lot to tunnel down to get that silver.
Do you and I value wisdom enough to ask God for it? And, do we spend time to dig for it--reading, studying and truly applying the deep treasures from God’s Word? Further, do you and I value wisdom enough to read the writing of great minds who have gone places our minds have never gone? Do we value wisdom enough to spend time with great thinkers discussing matters of substance and truth? hmmm...
Oh, the treasure trove of wisdom to be found in the life that seeks after the heart of God! Listen to me--there is a revival in our land, but more than that, an awakening. Young people, specifically male Gen-Zers are reaching out for God--they are looking for the wisdom that comes only from God! Be a part of it, Friends.
Wisdom – ask God for it, value it, and search for it like silver.
listen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YeLnMegXeLc&list=RDYeLnMegXeLc&a...
Pursuing God with you,
Christine
PastorWoman.net
1 - Job 28.1-3
2 - James 1.5-6
3 - Proverbs 3.5-6
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