Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones.

— Proverbs 3:7-8

We tend to believe that we will be the most happy—physically and spiritually—when we have everything under control. We want a wisdom that tells us how successful we will be, how much money we’ll make, where we’ll be in five or ten years, and what our retirement will look like.

When everything feels controlled, we feel happy and content. So we try to do whatever we can to control our circumstances, or else stress will overwhelm us, and our mental and physical health will suffer.

These verses in Proverbs teach us otherwise. Trying to be wise in our own eyes is actually not what is best for us. To help our bodies flourish, we need to surrender ourselves to the Lord.

Gaining wisdom from God and seeking to be wise in God’s eyes will bring health to our bodies. The book of James instructs us this way: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously . . . and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

God wants to give us his wisdom because he knows it will enable us to flourish. In his love for us, God knows that this true wisdom will release us from worry and allow us to surrender our lives to him—that we may live fully, as he intends for us.

God of all wisdom, help me to be wise in your eyes. By your Holy Spirit, keep me from seeking control and running after worldly ideas about wisdom so that I can focus my attention on you. Amen.