2 Kings 15-16 / Acts 19:13-41 / Psalm 147 / Proverbs 18:4-5
Wisdom is not something I’ve claimed in the past to possess, but just as the Lord has allowed me to hear His voice and now to see in the Spirit, He wants me to walk in the wisdom I have. It is no longer true that I don’t have wisdom, so I’m no longer permitted to say that.
When I get stuck on what to do, I pray and ask God for wisdom. I also ask my hubby Jeff because he is one who is peaceful and wise. He has a way of building bridges with others and of diffusing situations that would otherwise be blown completely out of proportion.
Jeff is a residential contractor, so he’s had 21 years of dealing with customers and homeowners who were in varying degrees of satisfaction on how their jobs were progressing. He’s had people angry at him, curse him, fire him from jobs for various reasons, most of which were misunderstandings. What does Jeff do when someone is angry or cursing? He remains calm and usually brings the conversation back to reason.
But he’s also not afraid to let these people know that he won’t be talked to that way. And we should also have the right to speak up for ourselves or remove ourselves from situations that are out of control. Wisdom will look different in each situation. At times, we should speak up and at times we should walk away. Sometimes it’s hard to know when to respond and how.
Proverbs 18:4 states Wise words are like deep waters; wisdom flows from the wise like a bubbling brook.
Wisdom, deep waters, a bubbling brook – reading this gives one a peaceful picture. And that reminds me of another scripture regarding God’s wisdom. James 3:17 states But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
I think I want wisdom to be my best friend! And as a follower of Christ, that’s possible because wisdom is the person of Jesus Christ. Reading these descriptions both gives me peace and brings me to conviction because I wonder if I operate this way when relating with others.
I recently had to work through a misunderstanding with a friend I’ve known for many years. She was upset over something she thought I did, which I didn’t do. And the accusations made me upset because I had hoped she knew me better. She wanted to walk away, and frankly, so did I. But God wouldn’t allow that. So, after I calmed down, forgave her, and prayed, I set up a coffee date.
The good news is all is well between us. The enemy was attempting to get in there and ruin what we have worked so hard to repair and rebuild – he lost this time!
Let’s go down the list of what wisdom is according to James. Wisdom is pure, peace-loving, gentle, willing to yield (humble, reasonable), full of mercy, full of good deeds, unwavering and is sincere. Let’s look these up in the Strong’s Concordance to see if we can gain anything further (although these are self-explanatory).
Pure – pure from carnality and every fault, innocent
Peace-loving – brings peace with it
Gentle – appropriate, patient
Reasonable – compliant, obeys easily
Full of mercy – kindness or good will towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with a desire to help them
Full of good fruits – joyful, happy, excellent, honorable works
Unwavering – impartial (shows no favoritism)
Without hypocrisy (sincere) – undisguised (with no mask on)
I do appreciate the broadening of understanding these definitions bring. With my friend, I needed to choose all of these, and it wasn’t easy at first, but as I prayed, I knew God would give me the words when in the moment. He did. I found myself being honest and keeping to the boundaries I needed, but also gentle, merciful, sincere and as the original verse stated – willing to yield.
Although I had done nothing wrong, my friend was rattled at something she thought I had done, and her heart was shaken. She told me with wet eyes that this pain reminded her of past pains, and I understood that all too well. I’m thankful I did the hard thing and didn’t allow the enemy to rob us of our friendship, our peace and yes, our wisdom.
