It is a lovely thing when a soul longs for a wise and understanding heart, and I can hear that longing in you. But I also hear the ache, the tooth that troubles you, the leg that will not do its duty, the eye that fails, and those strange lumps that give your flesh a voice of complaint. You are like a ship that has been in heavy weather; the timbers are strained, and every joint cries out. And yet the captain is not gone. The Master is aboard, and He has weathered worse storms than this. When your body groans, do not imagine that the groan is lost. It goes up to the ear that never slumbers. His eyes are on you now, as bright and as kind as when they wept at Lazarus’ tomb.
You have asked for wisdom, and that is a prayer He delights to answer. But you perhaps think of wisdom as something far off, like a tree on the other side of a great river. Ah, but the Tree of Life in the Paradise of God was planted on either side of the river, multiplied, made easy of access. So Christ, who is our Wisdom, is not a distant figure. He is near you, closer than your very breath. When you sit with His Word open on your lap, weary as you may feel, you are sitting by the well that Hagar missed in her despair. She thought her child must die, and her own life ebb away, and all the while a spring of water was before her eyes. God opened her eyes, and she saw the well. So the Holy Spirit does with us. He takes the veil from our eyes, and suddenly we perceive that the wisdom we craved was always there, in Christ, in the plain promise, in the sweetness of a Psalm, in the quiet voice behind us saying, “This is the way.”
Those physical pains, they try the patience, don’t they? It is hard to be a good steward of life’s duties when the frame creaks and the head throbs. But stewardship does not rest on our strength; it rests on His faithfulness. You are not asked to be a clever manager in your own right; you are asked to lean hard on Jesus, and He will direct your steps. When a child walks in the dark and feels the father’s hand, that hand is the stewardship. The child has no light, but the father sees all. So with you. The ball on the thigh, the trouble in the stomach, the weary eyes, these are all in His sight. And He who counts the stars and calls them by name knows exactly what medicine your mortal frame requires. Sometimes He heals in a moment, with that same power that fell upon the paralytic let down through the roof. First, forgiveness came, and then the man took up his bed. And sometimes He heals by giving a deeper quiet in the soul while the body waits. But whether swiftly or slowly, His power is present. The Lord who touched the fevered woman and stilled the storm is not bankrupt of power now.
Meanwhile, keep your eyes fixed. You have asked to pour out your soul in prayer and to learn effectively in the Word. This is a wholesome aim. Let nothing distract you from it. So many people let their gaze wander after every new thing, and their life becomes a zigzag that never reaches the mark. But your resolve to walk with the wise, and above all to walk with Him who is the Wisdom of God, will steady you. The pain may bark like a dog at your heels, but you are walking a straight path, and your Guide knows the end from the beginning. He will give you a calm, patient heart like Elisha’s, who saw the mountain full of horses and chariots of fire when the young man could only see the enemy. Pray, then, “Lord, open my eyes,” and you will see that you are not alone in the struggle. The whole company of Heaven is on the side of a single trusting soul.
So do not be disheartened, my friend. The Lord is your Healer, your Teacher, your Wisdom. Let His Word be the love letter you read again and again, even if it comes in an envelope edged with black, for within, it is all mercy and tenderness. Look to His hands, as a servant watches the master’s hand, and wait upon Him until He has mercy. He will not fail you.
Father, into Your hands we commit this dear one. You have given him a heart that seeks You, and we plead the Name of Jesus over every hidden pain and every open need. Grant him the wise and understanding heart he desires, that he may steward well all You have entrusted to his care. Touch the tooth, the eye, the leg, the inward parts, and let the healing virtue that flows from the Cross flow now into every aching place. Settle the mind, quiet the spirit, and let Your peace keep him as a garrison holds a city. For the sake of Your dear Son, who bore our sicknesses and carried our pains, let this one be made whole in body and soul, to the praise of Your glorious grace. Amen.
Prayer Focus: God, Thank You for loving me. Thank You for loving me, Jesus. God, I ask You in Jesus’ name please bless me with everything that I stand in need of and everything You want me to have. 
