James 1:5

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.

Life constantly throws challenges at us. How should I be spending my time and money? Should I move to a different job? How can I resolve the dispute with my next door neighbour? Should I let my colleague know that he’s annoying me? How should I tell my daughter that I think she’s seeing the wrong people? So many questions!

The Bible focuses a lot of attention on the subject of wisdom, in both the Old and the New Testaments. Wisdom is very different from knowledge. You can have all the knowledge in the world, but it will do you no good at all if you are not wise.

James points to God as the source of wisdom and encourages his readers to understand that God loves sharing his wisdom with us.

In the Old Testament, we learn a lot about wisdom in the book of Proverbs. There we find down-to-earth, straightforward advice and guidance for life. It speaks so directly into our lives that, at times, it’s a struggle to believe that it was written 3,000 years ago! In Proverbs 9:1, Solomon speaks of wisdom as a woman who has built her house on seven pillars. In verse 10, he says that “fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom.”

Writing about 1,000 years later, James agrees. Wisdom comes from God. Anyone who wants it, needs to get to know him better. That doesn’t mean we will immediately be wise once we become Christians. Far from it! But it does mean that we have a personal relationship with the one who is the source of all wisdom, together with an assurance that he can’t wait to share it with us.

The Bible is never in the business of giving us easy answers, but it does point us to the one who promises to accompany us as we seek to find a wise way forward.

Question – What do you need wisdom for today?

Prayer – Thank you, Lord, that you are so keen to share your wisdom with me. Please help me to seek your wisdom with greater determination. Amen