Wisdom!

I was talking this morning with another pastor's wife. Good conversation that the Lord lead me to have with her. She prayed with me and shared a glimpse into the difficulties ministry has been for them. She brought me reassurance that she could hear in my words a moving forward in the assurance that God will use what we have been through to minister to others more effectively. A reassurance that we are in God's will and that we have healed, not taking bitterness and unforgiveness with us. But the reminder that there are still scars there, even a few sores that will need continued healing.

I was also reminded that God wants to give us wisdom. To fight the battle of the enemy we need to have our armor on. Yet we need wisdom to outlast the enemy. I heard this morning "If we try to go into battle without wisdom the enemy can defeat because of our imaturity - zeal doesn't last - wisdom is better than strength. Don't think in your zeal that you can just run out and defeat the enemy."

The definition of Wisdom: knowledge of what is true or right coupled with just judgment as to action; discernment, or insight.

Wisdom seeks council of others. Wisdom takes time to stop and think and most importantly, to seek wisdom from Jesus. He is our example. He learned from his father, he sought council from him, and he had his disciples along side of him. He was also older and wiser when he began his full blown ministry. Maturity needed to be behind him as well. He learned from his earthly parents wisdom and from his heavenly Father. Lest we think that we are better than that, we too need to seek wisdom and good council. But not just to hear the council - to heed it. Otherwise we run into situations with zeal (not bad in itself) and have not listened to wisdom that others may have. No matter what our age is, we never should stop seeking wisdom.

"Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice." Proverbs 13:10
The proverbs list many verses on wisdom - this is an important aspect in the Christian walk. Isn't pride behind a lack of wisdom? When you stop and think about that - when I don't listen to someone else when they share an insight to me, when I choose to disregard it, in my pride I think that I have it right. Pride goes before the fall. Again words from scripture that I need to pay attention to every day.

Lord, grant me wisdom - to hear from others - to learn from others - and most important, to seek you for wisdom. Remove any pride that is within me. Strip it from me so I can serve you in humility. Thank you Lord Jesus, thank you!