We have all misjudged people at times, and other times God has provided us with his wise discernment. The Bible tells us not to “judge others,” and then the Apostle John tells us to “judge with right judgment.” What appears to be a contradiction is actually an important distinction. 

In Scripture, judging someone or something from a human perspective is different from discerning with God’s wisdom. Human beings make judgment calls every day. Some of those calls turn out well and others don’t.

Discernment is born from the wisdom of God; it's a gift given to those who ask for it. “Right judgment” is God’s perspective. 

We limit God in our lives when we assume we know what is true. We often judge based on what “appears” to be true or wise. Jonah’s judgment was based on the appearance of truth rather than the perfection of God’s call. Humanly, we all would have booked passage on that ship! Yet, Jonah’s judgment landed him in the belly of the fish until he was able to discern the truth of God in his life. 

No committee of Hebrew people would have crossed the Red Sea with walls of water on each side. Joshua was on the committee to decide whether or not they should enter the promised land, and he and Caleb lost the vote. He and Caleb were also the only members of the committee who ever did enter. Later, Joshua led the people to march around Jericho. By all appearances, that wouldn't have been a great military strategy. John the Baptist pointed to his carpenter cousin as the promised Messiah. 

Just a brief look at biblical history should tell us that we should never judge a situation or person with limited, human judgment. Right judgment is God’s. 

That’s why the Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We don’t have his discernment, his “right judgment,” until we ask for it and choose to receive it.

God provides the things we are most likely to “enjoy.” That one thought puts everything we own in a different light. God intends for us to enjoy our lives. We shouldn’t be surprised when we are tempted to want more than we really need. Too many possessions complicate our lives and rob us of our ability to enjoy what God wants for us. 

Paul described “the uncertainty of riches.” We buy cars that eventually need repairs. We buy homes that eventually need some remodeling. We buy clothes that go out of style, wear out, or no longer fit. The “stuff” we hope to accumulate in this world is often the source of momentary enjoyment. 

God’s word defines the blessings that will bring us the most enjoyment. God “richly provides” us with his joy, his forgiveness, his wisdom, his provision, his healing, and his understanding. There is a tranquility that comes with growing older. Most older people like to enjoy what they have as much or more than they enjoy getting something new. Maybe that is what is meant by the phrase “wisdom comes with age.” 

If we were to point to the things in our lives we know God has “richly provided,” we would probably realize that those things are the most important and enjoyable blessings we can name. We don’t “set our hopes” on things that are temporary or only last a moment. Our hopes are set on things with higher, long-lasting value. 

The Lord gives us wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Those gifts are provided by God so that we will enjoy them and allow them to give his perspective for everything else we might possess.

It has been said that the key to Psalm 23 is in the first few words, “The Lord is my shepherd.” The promises of the psalm belong to those who have chosen to make God their shepherd. 

When the Lord is our shepherd, we know we are safe. He goes ahead of us to “lead us” to a place where he can “restore our souls.” He walks with us so that he can “comfort us” and guide us to stay on, or return to, his right path. He walks behind us so that his “goodness and mercy” will follow us “all the days of our lives.” 

Those who make the Lord their shepherd are never without his care and his love. One day, our shepherd will tell us our journey is finished and we have arrived at the kingdom of God. There, we will “dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” 

One of the best moments of every vacation happens when we arrive home and open our front door. As Dorothy said in The Wizard of Oz, “There’s no place like home.” Our earthly lives are “road trips” full of interesting and important things to see and do. Our earthly lives have one central purpose: we are on our way Home. 

Not everything on our journey will be “green pastures.” We sometimes walk through those valleys the psalm describes. Whatever our circumstances might be along the way, we know we are being cared for, guided, and kept safe. One day we will arrive Home, and we will be safely Home forever. God’s house is the promise for every person who chooses to make the Lord their “shepherd.” 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding to those who will say, “The Lord is my shepherd. He is everything I want.”

A unique quality of Scripture is found in the promise God made to the prophet Isaiah. Every week, preachers and teachers study and prepare in order to present God’s word to others. The focus of those lessons should be a biblical passage because those are the only words God has promised to bless. 

God told Isaiah that his word, the words that come directly from God, don't return to him “empty.” God’s words accomplish his purpose and plan. The success of a sermon or lesson isn’t found in how powerful or eloquent the presenter can be. Instead, success should be measured by whether or not God’s word accomplished the purpose God intended. The only words God has promised to bless and use are his own. 

There is a unique power in using the actual words of a biblical passage. A teacher or preacher will always make a mistake or two. But, when God’s word is sent out, preached, and taught, it does not “return empty.” 

When you shared or read God’s word today, you and others experienced his inspired perfection. When our words are his, our words have power and authority. Every word of Scripture exists for a reason, and God promises that he will use them to accomplish his purpose, in our lives and in the lives of those we are called to teach and influence. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding so that we can speak his word, for his good purpose.

We can add depth to our knowledge of God if we learn to study Scripture in light of what it meant to the people who first received these words.

Remember: those who lived during the days of the Old Testament didn’t have our scientific advances. But they knew that when the heart ceased to beat, a life had ended. They understood that in times of intense emotion or effort, the heart would beat more rapidly. And they believed the heart meant the center of life itself, with all of its emotions and motivations. 

When the psalmist wrote “unite my heart to fear your name,” he was praying that his life would be driven and motivated by his faith in our powerful and holy Creator. He wanted to know the ways of the Lord so that he could walk in God’s truth. 

That should be our goal for Bible study as well. It isn’t about simply learning the words of Scripture and their meaning. Bible study should unite our hearts and minds with God. When the truth of Scripture lives at the center of our lives, our hearts are united with God’s because we “fear” his name. To fear God is to live with reverent awe of who he is and all he is. 

When we know the ways of God, we can choose his ways instead of our own. When our hearts “fear” God, we want him to be our King. When our hearts are united with God, we will live with his thoughts, his love, and his motives. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Those blessings live in our hearts and motivate our actions. God is the source of all things, and he has given us everything we need to unite our hearts to his—now and forever.

The Apostle John was an elderly man when he wrote the letter of 1 John. The first-century Christian church was established and growing by this time. The success the church was experiencing attracted some to be involved in the congregation for reasons other than the faith. 

John wrote his letter to encourage the members to remember why the church was sacred and important and why the church should be protected from people who were trying to alter the original apostolic message for the sake of personal profit. There have always been people who disagreed with God’s truth and therefore tried to exchange his words and ideas for their own. 

The elderly John spoke to his beloved congregation, referring to them as “dear children” because some were young in age and many were “spiritually” young—beginners in the Christian faith. John told them the Christian faith wasn’t simply a philosophy of people’s words or ideas. Christians were empowered by God’s Spirit and called to love one another with actions and the truth. 

Our faith isn’t simply what we think or say is true. Our faith is the power of truth witnessed through our actions. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. His children live differently as a result.

We don’t always want to hear the truth, but we usually want to know we have it. 

Sometimes God’s truth interferes with what we want to believe and often what others want us to believe.

God’s truth can separate us from the opinions of others. That can be especially tough when those “others” are people we love. 

How then does knowing the truth of God set us free? 

Jesus spoke those words and we know they are true even when they don’t feel like the truth. The truth sets us free. How? 

—We are free to believe God’s word over the world’s opinions.

—We are free to choose faith over fame.

—We are free to define success according to God’s standards.

—We are free to forgive the unforgivable.

—We are free to claim our own forgiveness through Christ.

—We are free to live with confidence in our eternal home.

—We are free to choose Christ and live by his Spirit.

—We are free to choose joy and peace, even amid fear and troubles.

We don’t always choose to walk in the truth we have, but God made certain his truth could always be taught and learned. God wanted us to know how to live free from our sins. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We have those blessings of truth, and his words will set us free, now and eternally.

God created us with the freedom to choose and, therefore, we like to be given choices. We enjoy a menu that offers a variety of options. We want to select our seats for a long movie or plane trip. We can’t imagine living in a culture that insists on “arranged” marriages. 

But, sometimes a doctor has to tell a person surgery is their only option. When the polio vaccine was developed, people didn’t ask for another choice; they were just grateful they didn’t have to worry about getting the disease. 

Sometimes there is only one choice because only one choice is needed. So it is with our salvation. 

When Jesus said, “I am the way, and the truth and the life,” he was saying, “I am the only way, the only truth and the only life.” His next words make his point absolutely clear. 

Jesus said, “No one comes to the Father except through me.” God didn’t need to send “several” sons into the world so that people could be saved. He only needed to send one because only one was needed. Jesus is the only option God gave because he is the only option that will save people from their sins. 

We all know people who didn’t like the option of a COVID vaccine. We probably know someone who died because they didn’t get a vaccine. We all had the right to choose, but the vaccine didn’t help the person who didn’t take it. The COVID vaccine didn’t seem perfect to some and they wanted other options. 

Thankfully, there are some. That isn’t true about the choice to be saved. 

Jesus is the only way, the only truth, and the only provision for our eternal life. No one comes to God except through Christ. That means everyone you know is either going to heaven or still lost. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Everyone will choose to believe God’s word of wisdom or something less. We don’t have another choice because Christ is the only option needed. If you have doubts, ask God to help you understand.

Our culture enjoys a good debate. It’s fascinating to watch intelligent people work through an issue, verbally making a case for their opinion or position. I enjoy a good debate about theology sometimes. There are some topics in Scripture that godly, educated people disagree about. Listening to their understanding of Scripture can broaden our own thinking. 

A lot of our beliefs are accepted by faith. Faith isn’t making a guess; it’s choosing to trust what we cannot see in light of the evidence we have. 

The Bible is miraculous evidence for the reality of God. The words of Scripture have been changing people’s lives since they were spoken and written. “Faith comes from hearing” if we choose to “hear” the word of Christ. To hear means more than simply experiencing an audible sound. In Scripture, to “hear” God’s word means to experience its truth. 

The book of Romans was written in the first century when “hearing” a sound meant someone or something was close by, making that sound real. Faith comes from hearing the reality of God’s word. 

Sometimes people will want to debate our Christian beliefs and our acceptance of Scripture as the trustworthy message of God. The Apostle Paul would remind us to use God’s word in our debate. People won’t find faith through our ideas or words; they will find faith through the word of Christ. People will see the reality of our faith when they see the reality of Christ in us. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. Let’s be careful to share the biblical message of Christ when we share our faith with others. Some will debate our faith, but others will come to know the Author of faith when we speak the word of Christ.

The GPS system in our cars has to be one of the best inventions of our lifetime! If you are old enough, you remember the days of unfolding and then trying to refold the paper maps we needed just to determine where we were and how to get where we needed to be. All of us who took road trips that way knew what it meant to be completely lost at some point in the trip. 

It isn’t as common for people to feel lost these days, and that might not be a good thing. We don’t reach for a map anymore because we have a GPS. We don’t reach for a light unless we realize it's too dark to see. A lot of people don’t reach for Christ because they don’t realize they are lost without him. 

People usually don’t admit to being lost until they realize they aren’t able to find their own way. We would rather wander around for a while, hoping to figure things out for ourselves. We might just give up and decide not to go if it seems too difficult. That describes the spiritual lostness of a lot of people in our culture today. 

But there is one destination that draws a person out of their pride to ask for direction. People are quick to ask for help when they are trying to get home. God’s word is more than a light to our path; it's a light for the path God most wants us to take. A light doesn’t help us very much if we are using it on the wrong road. On the other hand, if we want to stay on the road that leads home, God’s word will guide the way. 

In biblical times, a “lamp” was small and filled with oil. It gave light to a person’s next step or two, but not much more. God’s word gives us the light we need for the present and the promise that we will arrive home. We don’t know what the path looks like later on, but we know where our next steps should be. 

God’s word is our map for this life. God’s Holy Spirit is the voice of our spiritual GPS. We just need to program in the right destination and choose to trust his voice instead of thinking we know a better way. We need to ask for the help we need to arrive home. 

The Lord gives wisdom, knowledge, and understanding. We just need to remember that we are lost without his word, our lamp.