Finding Wisdom

We scurry about in the world for the things that will help us look and feel better, elevate us at work, reach our dreams, and fit the expected cultural status. Ideas and solutions clamor for our attention. Too often, they contradict each other to cause more confusion.

How are we supposed to know which way to go? What is the truth we can latch onto that won’t let us down? We shouldn’t run into everything to try it. If we already know it is not good for us, we don’t have to dive into it to learn more about it. Ignorance is not a bad thing until we learn a truth and don’t act on it. We all have things we must learn because none of us knows it all. It takes the right discernment to weed out the bad advice from the good.

I would have lived the first decade of my adult life better if I had used some Godly advice instead of running after things I thought I needed. I once had the dream job, house and car. It did not make me happy and tied up my money in all the wrong ways. We can’t predict how life will go, but we can learn how to live wisely with contentment in all circumstances.

God’s word, the Bible, says a lot about wisdom. We want to make it complicated as if it must tell us in minute detail how to live with everything. Or we ignore it entirely because we find it counter intuitive, laughed at by those around us, or we misunderstand who God really is. I used to find it counter intuitive and I know a lot of friends that scoffed when I became a Christian.

The book of Proverbs compares wisdom and foolishness in enough ways we should get it by the time we have completed studying the book. The world may not want God as Lord, but you can find a lot of the truth in Proverbs. Why? It’s the foundational truth of the God who created everything. If we dig through the noise, we can find God’s truth and make a foundation for living built on stone rather than sand. I waffled all over the place until I learned how to set God first and do it His way.

We can ask God for wisdom and proper discerning. He is not an aloof God. The Bible tells us that Jesus is not just our Lord, but He wants to be our friend. He knows every detail, but also gave us the free will to choose to learn about Him and His wisdom. He will always meet us where we are. If we take the time to digest what the Bible says about God and ways, we can determine for ourselves if we want to build our lives on the foundation of His wisdom or not.

Proverbs 31 is all about the wise woman and how she lives. She did not get there instantaneously. She grew to that point understanding God’s word and following the truths of the thirty chapters of Proverbs that came first. She is an example of how we can live with God.

Let’s take time out each day to discern what voice we are listening to. Is it directing us from a solid foundation of truth or just the latest fad of our culture? Life will still have trials, but we can find blessings and contentment despite them when we build on God’s solid foundation of wisdom.