This afternoon, because it was a sunny day, I decided to wash my van with my girls. Sounds simple, right? It would have been if I didn’t have to search all over for all the supplies I needed. First, I had to find the special nozzle for the hose, then I needed to find all the sponges, and finally I needed to find the pliers that I needed to turn on our tap because it doesn’t have a handle. It almost took me longer to find the materials to wash the van than it did to actually wash it! It wouldn’t have been so bad if I didn’t have to search through my disorganized cupboards and garage to find the elusive supplies that I needed! And when I finally did find all those elusive supplies, I had lost most and not all of my motivation to do it.
Sometimes it feels like other more important things are elusive me to these days as well. I am thinking specifically of wisdom. Do you think wisdom is something elusive and you have to search and search until you find it? And when you finally find it, you are so exhausted from the search that you don’t feel like applying it anymore? Sometimes it sure feels that way. My usual pattern for searching out wisdom is as follows: (1) talk to peers (in my case other pastors) (2) find a book on the subject/issue and (3) ask my wife (she is a very wise woman
). This process can be very exhausting and frustrating at times. And the worse part is, after all this work, I don’t necessarily feel any wiser as a result. Can anyone else relate to this? For you sake, I hope not! There is a MAJOR flaw in my pattern and that is I have tended not to go to God and His word first and foremost for wisdom. I have turned to everything BUT God’s word. It is pretty sad when I actually think about it but I have realized that this is what I have been doing for a very LONG time. Believe me, it has resulted in a LOT of frustration.
Well, what does scripture say about obtaining wisdom? In my “quiet time” with God this morning I read Proverbs 8. This proverb is ALL about wisdom and obtaining wisdom. Here are a few highlights. The Proverb starts off by telling us that wisdom is waiting at the crossroads and is calling out for us (yelling at us actually) to listen. And what is wisdom yelling at us? “You who are simple (that would be me), gain prudence, you who are foolish (me again), gain understanding.” Then for the next several verses wisdom tells us why we should listen. Wisdom tells us we should listen because she speaks what is true, right and just. Wisdom tells us to listen because what she has to offer is more valuable than silver or gold. Wisdom tells us to listen because she offers sound judgment and counsel. If we are not convinced yet, wisdom ends her plea for us to listen by telling us the benefits of wisdom: blessing and life. To me, this is a pretty strong and compelling plea!
God never meant for wisdom to be elusive. God never meant for acquiring wisdom to be an exhausting and frustrating experience. Actually it is quite the contrary. In the New Testament, in one of my favourite books, God through the writer James says: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” It is that simple: all we need to do is go to God and ask Him for wisdom and He says that if we do that He will give wisdom to us. So, we need to end our exhausting, frustrating and sometimes fruitless search for wisdom and simply go to God and ask Him for it!
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