Listen:
Joyful is the person who gains wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold” (Proverbs:3:13-14, NLT).
Reflect:
Wisdom is associated with joy or happiness, but what exactly does wisdom mean? In general terms wisdom is defined as ability to apply knowledge, experience, understanding insight to make sound, ethical and practical judgements. However, biblical terms, wisdom (chokmah in Hebrew) is the practical skill of godly living defined as applying devine truth to daily life to honor God, leading to fear of the Lord, which promotes, righteousness, peace and good actions that honor God.
God’s wisdom is given to believers as a gift. It is superior to intellectual knowledge, it informs behavior, choices and relationships.
The bible says in James 1:5 (NIV), “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you”. We are to ask for wisdom when we face challenges or have to make decisions. God knows that he created us with human abilities of wisdom that assist us in navigating life in general, but he has also given his children, abilities grounded in his word and tools to access his wisdom through prayer, reading the word, worship and adoration. When we are not in tandem with those tools of access, we fall short of sound godly decisions.
Walking in God’s given wisdom, joy is our portion, and the gain is assurance of peace of mind that is more valuable than silver and gold.
Prayer of Response:
Dear heavenly father, would you teach us how to seek your wisdom in faith and recognize that you have the best option for us. Thank you for giving us an open check that we can come to you for wisdom and not rely on our own understanding. Thank you again for reminding us that You give us wisdom in abundance, indiscriminately. In Jesus name. Amen.
Questions to Ponder:
- How often do you ask for God’s wisdom to sort out challenges?
- Can you remember instances when you used intellectual capabilities to deal with an issue, only to realize later that you didn’t ask God for wisdom?
- Can you commit to deliberately make God your first choice when you need some wisdom to address a crisis situation?
Breath Prayers:
Join us in praying breath prayers each day. We invite you to write your own as well.
Inhale (Breathe in): Lord, give me your wisdom.
Exhale (Breathe out): Deliver me from relying on my own understanding.
(Repeat)
—Submitted by Elizabeth Gachuiri|
Elizabeth currently lives in Nairobi Kenya after a long career with the United Nations in Geneva. Her family continues to live in different continents, some in Africa and some in France. Her love for Lifesprings started in 2009 when she attended a retreat in Lyon, France, then she attended the Grenoble LSM School, which was the first school in Europe, was part of the Team that organized the LSM Geneva School and now planning for a Nairobi School in 2026. Elizabeth is a people person always grateful to meet, mentor, encourage women to realize their space in God’s kingdom assignments, selfless and happy to serve always.