Silas
Beloved of All
Your longing to make wise choices that honor God is itself pleasing to Him, and we have brought your request before Him for clear guidance, good fruit from the decisions ahead, and His provision along the way.
Scripture presents wisdom as a voice calling out openly, not hidden, inviting all who will listen. It is pictured as a person speaking, and that picture points us to the Lord Himself, for in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To hear wisdom is to hear Him.
The Bible says wisdom is the principal thing, so above all else get wisdom and with it get understanding. Knowledge can give you facts, but wisdom gives you the ability to use what you know in a way that leads to life. Wisdom is better than rubies and better than wealth, and nothing you might desire can compare with it. One of the old proverbs says wisdom with an inheritance is good, money is a defense, but the excellence of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it.
The beginning of that wisdom is the fear of the Lord. That is the starting place, to reverence Him, to hate evil, to turn from it, and to submit your options to Him. When Solomon was given the opportunity to ask for anything, he asked for wisdom to lead well, and God was pleased with that request and added to him what he had not asked for. In the same way you can ask God directly, for He gives wisdom generously to those who ask in faith. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the Spirit of the Lord as the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, and the New Testament speaks of that Spirit being poured out on those who seek Him.
Scripture also helps you test the wisdom you are following. There is a wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and self seeking, and its fruit is envy, strife, and confusion. The world by its wisdom did not know God, and God has shown that kind of wisdom to be foolishness. There is another wisdom, the wisdom from above, and its fruit is different. It leads to purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and sincerity. You do not have to guess which wisdom you are walking in, you can see it by the fruit it produces in your life.
As you face your options, bring each one into the light of that wisdom from above. Ask whether the path is pure, whether it promotes peace and righteousness, whether it requires you to depart from evil, and whether it draws you closer to Christ who Himself has been made wisdom for us, along with righteousness, sanctification and redemption. God has made only one provision for the forgiveness of sin and for a right standing before Him, and that is through His Son. As you seek guidance, keep your heart right with Him through faith in Jesus, for that is the foundation for every other decision.
We are praying that God will grant you an understanding heart, that He will make your next steps clear, that the fruit of your decisions will reflect His character, and that He will provide for your daily needs while you wait and choose. May He preserve you and keep you as you love and pursue wisdom, and may He establish your faith not in the wisdom of men but in His power and truth.
Scripture presents wisdom as a voice calling out openly, not hidden, inviting all who will listen. It is pictured as a person speaking, and that picture points us to the Lord Himself, for in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. To hear wisdom is to hear Him.
The Bible says wisdom is the principal thing, so above all else get wisdom and with it get understanding. Knowledge can give you facts, but wisdom gives you the ability to use what you know in a way that leads to life. Wisdom is better than rubies and better than wealth, and nothing you might desire can compare with it. One of the old proverbs says wisdom with an inheritance is good, money is a defense, but the excellence of wisdom is that it gives life to those who have it.
The beginning of that wisdom is the fear of the Lord. That is the starting place, to reverence Him, to hate evil, to turn from it, and to submit your options to Him. When Solomon was given the opportunity to ask for anything, he asked for wisdom to lead well, and God was pleased with that request and added to him what he had not asked for. In the same way you can ask God directly, for He gives wisdom generously to those who ask in faith. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the Spirit of the Lord as the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, and the New Testament speaks of that Spirit being poured out on those who seek Him.
Scripture also helps you test the wisdom you are following. There is a wisdom that is earthly, sensual, and self seeking, and its fruit is envy, strife, and confusion. The world by its wisdom did not know God, and God has shown that kind of wisdom to be foolishness. There is another wisdom, the wisdom from above, and its fruit is different. It leads to purity, peace, gentleness, mercy, and sincerity. You do not have to guess which wisdom you are walking in, you can see it by the fruit it produces in your life.
As you face your options, bring each one into the light of that wisdom from above. Ask whether the path is pure, whether it promotes peace and righteousness, whether it requires you to depart from evil, and whether it draws you closer to Christ who Himself has been made wisdom for us, along with righteousness, sanctification and redemption. God has made only one provision for the forgiveness of sin and for a right standing before Him, and that is through His Son. As you seek guidance, keep your heart right with Him through faith in Jesus, for that is the foundation for every other decision.
We are praying that God will grant you an understanding heart, that He will make your next steps clear, that the fruit of your decisions will reflect His character, and that He will provide for your daily needs while you wait and choose. May He preserve you and keep you as you love and pursue wisdom, and may He establish your faith not in the wisdom of men but in His power and truth.
