God is Wise

Written by: Marcie Dennis, 7/25/2023

"Oh, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and unfathomable His ways!" Romans 11:33

God's Ways Are Not Our Ways

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the Lord. "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9

God's ways are not our own. Dating Connor at the start of senior year was not what I had planned, I wanted to wait until after college was over at that point. But God had different plans for me, better plans than I could have come up with on my own. We started officially dating on November 8 of 2012.

Maybe six weeks later, I freaked out and almost dumped him. I was scared that he would decide after pursuing me and putting in all this effort to get me to say yes, he would change his mind. At this point, that would really hurt me. So, I figured I'd better end it rather than face that potential pain.

My roommate talked me off the edge and reassured me I was being ridiculous. Connor wasn't about to change his mind, there was no sign of that. It anything, he was more interested than before.

A few months later I realized how attached I was becoming, I loved him, and I was terrified of losing him like I had lost my father. I didn't want to face that kind of pain again. My roommate almost smacked me when I told her I wanted to dump him! Once again, she calmed my fears, reassuring me that this was good to love him so much it would hurt if I ever lost him. That meant it was deep and true.

I kept trying to run from potential pain because I thought after just coming to the end of my season of grief over losing my father, I couldn’t handle it. But God knew that there was so much more waiting for me on the other side of my fears. If I could simply trust God's timing and clear call to be with Connor, there was greatness ahead of us.

And man was he right. Connor is the perfect man for me. He loves me deeply and fiercely. He is loyal and unwavering. He pushes me to be better, even when I want to yell at him to leave me alone. He is proud of the ministry work we do together. He is a fantastic father and loves our children better than I can at times. He keeps me sane; he lets me cry, he makes me laugh, and we share a beautiful life together in spite of all the struggles that we face.

Our life together is far from perfect because we are imperfect people, as is this world. But as we pursue God and we pursue each other, we over come each hurdle and grow stronger each step of the way. He can frustrate me to no end and certainly has his flaws, but I love him anyway.

God knew he would be what I needed by my side each day and I'm so grateful I chose to trust His guidance and wisdom.

Wisdom vs. Knowledge

There is a difference between wisdom and knowledge. God is both, wise and knowledgeable, but we want to focus in on wisdom today. So what's the difference?

Knowledge is skills, facts, and information a person can acquire through experience or education. Because God created everything and is eternal, he knows everything. His knowledge is unmatched.

Wisdom is having knowledge and the capacity to use it properly. It’s when you take the knowledge you learned about how to hear the voice of God and you apply it to your life. When we choose to listen to him telling us to date the man and we do that very thing in spite of fears of heartache, that is wisdom.

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.” James 3:17

This is how we can know if something is wise in God’s eyes. We have to remember that our ways are not God’s ways (Isaiah 55:8-9) and therefore we have to test what we think against scripture to know if it’s truly wise. If it falls into all the descriptors above in James 3:17, then you can trust it is Biblically sound.

True wisdom looks like willingness to learn and gain knowledge (Proverbs 18:15). It is knowing the word of the God and building your life upon it (Matthew 7:24). Wisdom is being willing to accept advice, even when we haven’t asked for it (Proverbs 13:10). Wise people make the most of their time in ways that are pleasing to the Lord (Ephesians 5:15-16).

How Can We Gain Wisdom?

The next logical question is how do we gain wisdom? According to James 1:5, it's as simple as asking for it. "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him."

When our hearts are in alignment with God and we want true wisdom, God desires to give it to us. There's no judgement and reproach with that unless you're asking for wrong reasons. Like you want to be able to outsmart that co-worker who is always rubbing things in your face. Or you want to out-wit your sibling that always seems to know the right thing to do while you struggle to figure it out.

If you want wisdom, for wisdom's sake so that you can honor God in all your ways, or you need wisdom in a situation that is so sticky and complicated you simply cannot figure out the next right move, these are good things. God will give it generously to you.

Once you have it though, be cautious, do not become proud as Solomon did. When God offered anything to Solomon his heart desired, he chose what is the equivalent of wisdom; read 1 Kings 3:9. And for a long time, he did good with It! He was hailed as the wisest man in history, Kings, Queens, and wise men from all over came to hear his wisdom in their situations.

In this, he grew over-confident, he was proud, and he let his heart have everything he desired; it was not all good in the Lord's eyes. By the end of his life, you can read in Ecclesiastes 3 how he laments that what he did in addition to his wisdom was all folly. He was wise but had also chosen things that were not wise.

At the end, he regretted everything he had done for his own glory and his own benefit because in the end it wasn't a benefit to him, but whoever came after him when he was gone.

Don't let this deter you from asking for wisdom but be cautious once you have it and continue to exercise it well.

Closing:

Friends, wisdom is taking knowledge, the skills you have learned and applying it appropriately. You can readily ask for wisdom and receive it without reproach from God. He desires to give you wisdom and share this characteristic with you. We want to be imitators of Christ, that is true wisdom.

God will show you the right move when you don't know what should come next, and he'll guide you when it's time to start something new or walk away and call your work done. He'll guide you in and out of relationships of all kinds and he is gladdened when you seek his wisdom instead of the world's.

Remember to always test it against the Bible and not what your best friend or social media say. Read James 3:17 for a quick reference when you're questioning a decision you're about to make. God will never lead you astray. He is wise and gives generously to all who ask. So, ask away friends and receive his wisdom gladly.

Prayer:

Wise father, we ask for your wisdom today. We know that we are lacking and in need. We have hundreds of decisions before us every day and we're not always sure what the right choice is. Please rest in our hearts and lend us your wisdom in each situation. Teach us your ways so we may be imitators of you and your perfect ways. We thank you in advance for providing wisdom each time we need it, and we thank you for the times you have already shown your faithfulness.

Thank you for loving us enough to share your wisdom generously to all without finding fault. Thank you.

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Hey sweet lady, we want to take a quick minute to guide your next steps with the scripture and application portion. We believe that to truly grow closer to God, we need to spend time dwelling on what he’s trying to teach us and not rush through it. We encourage you to spend a full week dwelling on this devotional and all it has to offer you. That means you can save some of the scripture passages for another day or re-read them in the week. We also encourage you to take your time with the application portion. You can sit in each prompt until you feel God revealing his truths to you. Don’t rush, take time to truly get to know him better by sitting in what he’s trying to teach you this week. That's where your faith will grow.

Scripture for Deeper Study:

• 1 Kings 3:5-15

• James 3:13-18

• Ephesians 5:1-21

Application:

• Journal where you've seen God's wisdom in your life already and thank God for that!

• Write down where you need wisdom right now. Bring it before God and ask him to show up clearly to guide you in the wisest way to go.

• Do you sense any pride and over-confidence in you right now? Are you self-assured in your knowledge and wisdom? If so, check yourself friend. Confess to God the error of your ways and ask his forgiveness. Acknowledge that He is the ultimate source of all goodness in you and that you are in desperate need of him every day. Humble yourself and feel his forgiveness and love every time.