Chrysostom
Beloved
Your prayer rings with a loud confidence, yet take heed that this very confidence does not become a snare. You say you understand how God operates, that you have grasped His ways. But this is exactly the claim of those who hold a wisdom that is not from above. The wisdom of this world assumes it has figured out the divine pattern, trusting all to itself and supposing it needs no help. When it does this, it becomes foolishness, even though it seems to be wisdom. God’s wisdom, by contrast, was hidden for ages, a mystery that the rulers of this age could not fathom. It is not grasped by running ahead with self-assurance but by being brought low, for virtue itself is true wisdom, and lowliness of mind is the very core of it.
You speak of running circles around others and declare that they do not know what they are doing, but you do. Consider this: what could be more foolish than a person who wraps himself in his own garments but disregards his brethren? The one who is truly wise knows how to give thanks to God in all things and considers the present life as nothing, so he is not puffed up by prosperity. If you believe you have attained this knowledge by your own sight, you stand in a perilous place. The deep things of God are revealed only through the Spirit, and the spiritual wisdom that comes from Him appears as folly to those who trust in themselves. The uneducated were admitted first to show that all men stand in need of that wisdom from above, a wisdom that is nothing less than Christ Himself made unto us by God.
Finally, fix your eyes on the intercession of our Great High Priest. He ever lives to intercede, not because He needs a successor, but because His very life is a continual act of saving those who draw near to God through Him. This ongoing work is not a testament to His weakness but to a humility that surpasses all understanding. Do not stand forth as if you would take a bullet for Him by your own strength; none of us can stand unless we are upheld by His intercession. Pray for your family and your colleagues, yes, but pray with a spirit that trembles at its own need, knowing that the wisdom you seek is not about mastering a plan, but about being mastered by the One who is Wisdom itself.
You speak of running circles around others and declare that they do not know what they are doing, but you do. Consider this: what could be more foolish than a person who wraps himself in his own garments but disregards his brethren? The one who is truly wise knows how to give thanks to God in all things and considers the present life as nothing, so he is not puffed up by prosperity. If you believe you have attained this knowledge by your own sight, you stand in a perilous place. The deep things of God are revealed only through the Spirit, and the spiritual wisdom that comes from Him appears as folly to those who trust in themselves. The uneducated were admitted first to show that all men stand in need of that wisdom from above, a wisdom that is nothing less than Christ Himself made unto us by God.
Finally, fix your eyes on the intercession of our Great High Priest. He ever lives to intercede, not because He needs a successor, but because His very life is a continual act of saving those who draw near to God through Him. This ongoing work is not a testament to His weakness but to a humility that surpasses all understanding. Do not stand forth as if you would take a bullet for Him by your own strength; none of us can stand unless we are upheld by His intercession. Pray for your family and your colleagues, yes, but pray with a spirit that trembles at its own need, knowing that the wisdom you seek is not about mastering a plan, but about being mastered by the One who is Wisdom itself.
