Sometimes as we drive down the road of life, we come to dangerous intersections.We refer to them as “forks in the road.”Perhaps you feel like you are at a dangerous intersection right now in your life. The Bible speaks about a divine resource we can utilize when we come to those intersections. It is called wisdom. There are many times when we will approach one of those intersections and we’ll realize we have a shortage of wisdom.

This is the very situation James addresses in 1:5-8. James had just finished speaking about the various trials we encounter in life. These are the difficulties and suffering that come our way. BIG IDEA: Life creates a demand for wisdom which God supplies when the conditions are met.

What is wisdom?

Wisdom and knowledge are both recurring themes in the Bible and are related to each other, they are not synonymous. The dictionary defines wisdom as “the ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting.” Knowledge, on the other hand, is “information gained through experience, reasoning, or acquaintance.” Knowledge is what is gathered over time through study and experience.

But it can be said that wisdom acts properly upon that knowledge - wisdom is the application of knowledge. True wisdom, according to Scripture, begins with God. Proverbs 9:10 tells us that the “fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” In Proverbs 1:7, we learn that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs tells us that fools hate wisdom. The fool is the person whose choices contradict God’s truth.

Full Notes