God Speaking

“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault…”

(James 1:5)

When I was a child the most incredible source of knowledge that I was aware of, was to be found in the Encyclopaedia Britannica. I can still see my Father’s copy of those mighty tomes, lined up in the right alphabetical order on his shelve, ready to be delved into immediately any discussion came up, or any problem needed solving. Likewise my own husband insisted when our children began to go to school, we needed to buy our set of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, so they would not be without this wonderful source to help them with their studies. Discovering answers from them certainly contained a lot of searching and reading, and one had to buy additional volumes to keep the knowledge up to date, but one trusted the publishers to be diligent in overseeing the accuracy of their work. O, how things have changed with technology taking over. “Just Google it” I hear my grandchildren say!! Seeking wisdom has certainly changed. It now seems to be found with a click of a button.

But, and this is a big one, many hands have access to the internet. False information can easily be transferred to web sites, it is hard to verify who contributed to what and how does one sort through what is really worthy to be acknowledged and what should be discarded. So where to turn to for that wisdom that has stood the test of time, has been challenged and found to be true, has been the rock for countless generations? Only God’s Word can make this claim;

“Every word of God is flawless….” (Proverbs 30:5)

The first step in being able to access this wisdom (and no you don’t need to remember the password) is to get to know the author. David discovered that once he sought to know the Lord more intimately, and only then, God was able to allow his wisdom to flow through David’s very being, to invade his heart so wisdom resided within him and he was able to recognise God’s hand in this beautiful transferring.

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” (Psalm 51:6)

Scripture also urges us to seek wisdom from others who have sought and found this precious gift. How many times have we urged our teen agers to choose wisely the companions they share their lives with? This verse from Proverbs is just as true today as when Solomon penned it for his son to heed;

“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” (Proverbs 13:20)

Life is perplexing and when problems arise and decisions need to be made, it is tempting to use the world’s avenues to find solutions and we often overlook the depth of wisdom to be found in God’s word and when we remember his beautiful offer and seek him it is amazing how the problems unravel and when we share this great news with others we lead them to a greater understanding of God’s riches.

“Those who impart wisdom will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:3)