Wisdom
Hello February! Is it me, or did January zip by very quickly? For some the start of February is good news as it marks the end of ‘dry January’... if that’s you, cheers!
I don’t know how God speaks to you, or perhaps you have never heard Him in that way? But over the last month, I feel like God has been speaking to me about wisdom.
That’s because it has popped up in my daily Bible readings, conversations, social media posts and in our ‘connect’ group.
We have been studying the book of James, from the New Testament, in our group. James wrote this…
“…the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”
In this context, James was contrasting what he called ‘worldly’ wisdom with God’s (heavenly) wisdom. Here, the earthly wisdom was about an individual thinking only about themselves.
If you have ever watched The Apprentice on TV, when the candidates are introduced, they all seem to be rather ‘full of themselves’ and what they are after. This is what James calls ‘worldly wisdom’.
In contrast, God’s people are those who seek to live according to His ways and His priorities. This is done by having His wisdom embedded into us.
The older I get, the more I realise that I need God’s wisdom. For me, it feels like God takes my life experiences, the good the bad and the ugly, and from that, forms some kind of wisdom. These events have shaped my life and affect how I live now.
I came across this quote, which really spoke to me, perhaps it will to you too…
‘As we grow older real beauty travels from the face to the heart, appeal turns to charm, hurt to wisdom and great moments to shared memories. The true beauty of life is not how happy you are now, but how happy others are because of you.’
Let me encourage you to be someone who lives by God’s wisdom. Allow it to shape who you are and all you do. So, how do we get God’s wisdom? The Bible says, all we have to do is to ask God…
God bless you :)
Gary Bastin - Hope Community Church leader