Seeking Wisdom

“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” James 1:5

This is a very familiar scripture to most of us and one that I remind myself many times.  It applies to how we deal with natural things as well as spiritual.  When facing a difficult situation or a challenge, I always pray for the Lord to give me wisdom.  Sometimes whispering a prayer, and then just taking a break from what we are doing, gives us a new outlook and we can see the solution that we could not see before.

I have been reading the Book of Job in the New Living Translation and enjoyed what Job has to say in Chapter 28.  For the first eleven verses he goes over all the things that man has been able to discover such as mining for gold and other precious things in the earth.  In verse 12 he asks the question, “But do people know where to find wisdom?

He goes on to explain that wisdom cannot be bought with gold or silver, yet it is more valuable than these.  God alone understands the way of wisdom, because He sees everything.  He determines the force of the winds, and the amount of rain that falls.  In verse 28, Job says: “this is what He (God) says to all humanity: ‘The fear of the Lord is true wisdom; to forsake evil is understanding.’”

Through the years God has given men wisdom to discover new knowledge in the fields of medicine, technology, etc.  Our lives are made so much richer by the things they have been able to develop. All these things are great and wonderful, but if we do not fear God and walk in His way, they avail us nothing.

Have you ever gone to someone for advice on how to do something, and they make you feel like you are stupid (if I can use that word), and you wish you had never asked?  It will never be that way with the Lord, we can go to Him with any questions that we have, and He will give us the answers we need.  More importantly, He will not make fun of us, or ridicule us for asking.  As James says, He will not scold or revile us.

Prayer:  Jesus, thank you that you have given us the liberty to come to you with any problem or situation that we have, and you have promised to give us the wisdom we need.

Devotion by Anne Johnston