Seeking God's Wisdom

Solomon had just become king. God gave him one request - I Kings 3:5-12. Solomon replied to God that he was but like a child and he knew not how to come out and go in. His request was that God give him wisdom and an understanding heart so he would know how to judge properly. Verse I & 2  especially bears out Solomon's request when he says, "Give your love of justice to the king, O God, and righteousness to the king’s son. Help him judge your people in the right way;" Solomon had a significant task ahead of him and he knew - without God's divine Spirit in Him proving immense wisdom - he would not be successful. God blessed Solomon with great wisdom to govern the people.

So I take it to be a great and wonderful and liberating truth that God made us to be eternally happy. And I find great help in viewing the Bible as God's guidebook to joy. I ought to view the Bible as a divine prescription for how to be cured of all unhappiness. The medicine it prescribes is not always sweet, but the cure it brings is infinite and eternal joy at God's right hand (Psalm 16:11). As Solomon learned, wisdom is key to happiness.
Proverbs 4:5 says "Get wisdom, get insight," and Proverbs 16:16 says, "To get wisdom is better than gold; to get understanding is to be chosen rather than silver." It is a matter of life and death. The ultimate, eternal happiness that I long for will only be found by first "getting wisdom." Ultimate and eternal happiness is what wisdom will bring, but not all happiness comes from true wisdom. Proverbs 15:21 says, "Folly is a joy to him who has no sense." My thirst for happiness is insatiable in this world, and if I do not have the wisdom to seek it in God, then I will find whatever substitutes I can in the world.

Proverbs 11:2 says, "When pride comes, then comes disgrace; but with the humble is wisdom." The wise person is characterized by humility. The person who is proud does not fear the Lord, who hates a haughty spirit, and therefore can't get to first base in wisdom. But the person who fears the Lord is humble, because he depends on God for everything and fears to take credit himself for what God does. Humility in turn is foundational for the other aspects of Godly wisdom because humility is teachable and open to change and growth. The proud person, as I can be, does not like to admit error and need for growth. But the humble person is open to counsel and reason and ready to be corrected and follow truth.

Humility, unlike pride, does not recoil when commanded to do something. And this is essential for the advancement of wisdom because Moses taught that wisdom consists in knowing and doing the commandments of God. Deuteronomy 4:5-6, "Behold I have taught you statutes and ordinances, as the Lord my God commanded me that you should do them. . . . Keep them and do them; for that will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples." And Jesus said the same thing about his own words, "Everyone who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon a rock" (Matthew 7:24). 

Perhaps a good definition of Godly wisdom, therefore, would be: hearing and doing God's word. God's word is a divine prescription for how to be finally cured of all unhappiness. Wisdom is the practical knowledge of how to attain that happiness. Therefore, wisdom is hearing and doing the word of God. But the only people who will do this are the people who are humbly relying on God for help and who fear to seek happiness anywhere but in him. Therefore the fear of the Lord is the beginning and spring of all true wisdom.

So first I must desire wisdom with all my might. Proverbs 4:8 says, "Prize her highly and she will exalt you; she will honor you for your embrace." These are not cheap words. To prize something and to embrace someone are signs of intense desire and love. Wisdom must be valuable for me. I must be willing to sell all in order to buy it: "Seek it like silver, and search for it as for hidden treasure" (Proverbs 2:4). 
Second, since wisdom is found in the word of God, I must apply myself in study and meditation to know the Word and do it. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple." (Psalm 19:7).


I don't aspire with high standards in my reading because I don't feel like there is much hope. But I read some great advice of a renowned pastor . He presented this study path:
 If a person reads about 250 words a minute (this is average) and resolves to devote just 15 minutes a day to serious Biblical reading to deepen one's grasp of Biblical truth. In one year (356 days) that person would read for 5,475 minutes. Multiply that times 250 words per minute and you get 1,368,750 words per year. Now most books have between 300 and 400 words per page. So if a person takes 350 words per page and divide that into 1,368,750 words per year  it equals 3,910 pages per year. This means that at 250 words a minute, fifteen minutes a day a person could read about 20 average sized books a year. 

So I analyzed my day and set aside the 15 minutes just before bed to read  Biblical truth.  The pastor suggested  choosing some classics that I have always wanted to read (St. Augustine's Confessions, or City of God; John Calvin's Institutes; Martin Luther's Commentary on Galatians, or Bondage of the Will; John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, Jonathan Edwards' Religious Affections, etc.) and set aside 15 minutes. The pastor said a person would not be the same person next year. The person's mind will be stretched, the heart enlarged, and zeal more fervent. Above all the person will have grown in wisdom. And it may not be long until someone says of him or her: "the words of his mouth are as deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a gushing spring" (Proverbs 18:4).  May God change me by seeking His wisdom with all heart, mind and soul.

Created 8 months ago