Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin

“My fruit is better than gold, even fine gold, and my yield than choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, in the paths of justice, granting an inheritance to those who love me, and filling their treasuries.” (Proverbs 8:19-21)

Have you received an inheritance of fine jewelry from a parent or a grandparent? Will you be leaving some of your most valuable jewels or other keepsakes to your children? I had a conversation yesterday with a friend about precious photographs that we have seen in antique stores, obviously not valued much by the families who gave them away. For my part, I am grateful to have a some very old family photos and seek to know now who all the people in the pictures are, and how we are related.

Wisdom promises us an inheritance that is of higher value than anything material we could receive from a family member. But only those who love wisdom will receive “her” gifts-only those who enjoy wisdom’s righteousness and justice are granted this birthright. Those who love Christ and live by his grace are conformed to his character and have the opportunity to walk in wisdom’s path. This is not an easy calling, but one that requires God’s perfect righteousness and justice, which never lapses. Wisdom is given by God, not bought but granted by his undeserved grace with mercy. Just so, the results of Christ’s righteousness and justice, the greatest wisdom possible, is the fruit that fills the treasuries of believers, who are given this unearned inheritance. As John Gills writes in his commentary, “This [fruit] is enjoyed by way of inheritance; it is not purchased, nor acquired, but bequeathed and given to the children of God by their heavenly Father, and comes to them through the death of Christ, the testator, and is forever…Christ now fills their understandings with spiritual knowledge, their souls with grace, their minds with peace and joy, and their hearts with food and gladness; and hereafter he will fill them to full satisfaction with knowledge, holiness, and joy, and will be all in all to them.”

Considering that we, who desire to be wise, are promised this great treasure, by our God who is utterly faithful, why would we instead want the cheap, empty things of the world? We are promised an incorruptible, eternal inheritance—a relationship with Christ. Why not live wisely as those who are secure in him? “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. You return man to dust and say, ‘Return, O children of man!’ For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers…So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.” (Psalm 90:2-6, 12)

One of the benefits of writing a devotional blog is the opportunity to consider current events. I was planning to write about the inheritance of the wise today, and my meditations led me to this Psalm 90:12, which naturally led me to think about and grieve over the recent deaths of the students and teachers at the school in Parkland, Florida. James Boice wrote in his commentary: “Psalm 90 is a reflection on human mortality and the brevity of life, plus quiet confidence in God who is the steadfast hope of the righteous. This psalm is probably the greatest passage in the Bible contrasting the grandeur of God with man’s frailty.” Isaac Watts’ hymn, “Our God, Our Help in Ages Past,” is frequently sung at funerals and is based on Psalm 90. It was probably written by Moses who had experienced the deaths of his siblings, Miriam and Aaron, with whom he ministered for much of his adult life.

The psalm begins with a statement of God’s grandeur on verses 1-2. Moses then turns our attention to man’s frailty and brief life in contrast to God’s eternality. God is infinite in every way, including his physical existence. Man is physically mortal without Christ, and even with him, we humans have a limited life-span on earth before Jesus returns, and with him, we are raised. Sudden death is especially horrifying, for believers and unbelievers. It rips away those we love from our presence, without warning and often violently. Our knowledge that death is the result of sin in the world makes us even more righteously indignant at the destruction of victims who died too young, too fast, and too cruelly.

So, what are we to do?  As we grieve, which is right, we also ask God to “Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom” (v. 12). Lord, help us to accept the brevity of life here and the importance of living in Christ, for Christ, and through Christ, sharing his gospel with those who are in our paths. Take us to those who are unprepared for death to know that you are “the resurrection and the life” (John 11:25).

“A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might. (Proverbs 24:5)

Classical instructors sometimes teach primary theories, principles, or units in a cycle where the academic content is more specialized each time it is learned. A student in sixth-grade math may have three units on word problems during the year, to revise and reinforce their skills with some advanced material added each time. This devotional study of Proverbs is similar in that some ideas will be repeated, for the sake of review and reinforcement, each with a slightly different twist. Ecclesiastes 9:14-15, about an unnamed, poor wise man who saved his little city was the leading verse on February 1st. Today we are again considering wisdom-a superior form of strength.

We are “full of strength” if we are wise. “My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever” (Psalms 73:26). Matthew Henry wrote in his commentary on this psalm: “The spirit is strengthened for the spiritual work and the spiritual warfare, by true wisdom.” John Gills commented on Proverbs 24:5, ” A spiritual man, a man endued with spiritual knowledge, with the knowledge of Christ, and salvation by him…he grows stronger and stronger, he goes from strength to strength; the more he knows of Christ, the more strongly he trusts in him and loves him, and the more able he is to resist Satan’s temptations; and is a better match for false teachers who deceive the hearts of the simple.” Both theologians identify wisdom from God as that which strengthens our hearts. Gills is very specific, pointing out that faith in Christ is the particular wisdom that strengthens our hearts and souls.

Whenever I seem to be at my weakest as a teacher, writer, or minister, my work seems to be strongest. We are reminded of God’s admonition for Paul, after his request for healing was denied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9a). God’s grace in Jesus Christ is heart-power, soul-muscle, and faith-potency. What is Paul’s conclusion to his dilemma of being so weak in his flesh? “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:9b-10) Will anyone argue that Paul was not exceedingly wise?

If you want to have the wisdom of Paul, will you have the courage to be weak, letting God’s power come to the forefront, accomplishing his purposes by his strength?

“The wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:17-18)

Do you have a list or schedule of things to do today? I counted seven significant things on my calendar, including one meeting, one lunch appointment, and various other time-consuming tasks. While you and I may need to finish our tasks for today, it should be a priority to do them all with “wisdom from above.” James lists eight characteristics of godly wisdom in verse 17, available to us with the asking.

Only true wisdom from God can be pure, since he alone is without impurities and disorder, as described in verses 14-16. This is a vital reminder that the wisdom we seek is not our own, does not come from inside of us, and cannot be produced by the right attitude, no matter how hard we try. The only way to acquire God’s pure wisdom is to receive it by his grace through our union with Jesus Christ, who is the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:24).

The next three qualities of godly wisdom mentioned by James logically follow from submission to God: peacefulness, gentleness, and being teachable (open to reason). These are in direct contrast to bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, clearly not from above, but are from the world, leading to disorder (James 1:14-16). Do we manifest peace, gentleness, and teachableness, confirming that we have wisdom from above? If so, we will also be full of mercy and good fruits with fairness and authenticity. Perhaps we should use this list as a litmus test of our character, realizing that any failures on our part are the result of a lacking contriteness. Only by recognizing our lack of humility can we repent, asking the Lord to strengthen our faith. Our faithfulness will yield more peace by which God’s righteousness will abound (v. 18).

Will these qualities characterize your approach today in the midst of a world that craves unyielding opinions and strong emotional responses? Will you submit yourself to God for the wisdom you desire, to enjoy its benefits of righteousness?

“It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:9-11)

Proverbs 2:6, 11-14 “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding… discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you, delivering you from the way of evil, from men of perverted speech, who forsake the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness, who rejoice in doing evil and delight in the perverseness of evil.”

Many of us live what we would consider secure, peaceful lives, without having to worry about threats to our safety except infrequently. Others live in crime-ridden neighborhoods, political hotbeds, or war zones where security is a minute-by-minute concern. However, all Christians are confronted with threats every day, whether we are conscious of it or not. Our flesh that rails against our spirit, the devil schemes against us, and the world exerts pressure on us to conform to its immoral values and principles. In the January 2018 issue of Tabletalk magazine, two authors reminded us of our struggles. Trilla Newbell wrote, “Sin affects us to our core. Sin wreaks havoc on every aspect of life, especially on our ability to keep the commandments to love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves.” (1) In another article, Dr. Albert Mohler wrote, “We must not underestimate what we are up against. We face titanic struggles on behalf of human life and human dignity against the culture of death and the great evils of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. We are in a great fight for the integrity of marriage as the union of a man and a woman. We face a cultural alliance determined to advance a sexual revolution that will unleash unmitigated chaos and bring great injury to individuals, families, and the society at large. We are fighting to defend gender as part of the goodness of God’s creation and to defend the very existence of an objective moral order.” (2) As we watch the Olympic Games, prepare to vote in primary elections, or make day-to-day decisions, the world would have us show our tolerance toward evil by compromising our biblical convictions.

Wisdom emboldens us when evil threatens us, either from within or without. “Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith.” (1 John 5:4) We mortify our sin by the Holy Spirit who indwells us and empowers us to love and obey God. We are also called to fight against all external forces of evil. “Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me-practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9)

Will you wisely support and do what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable and excellent today?

(1) Trilla J. Newbell, “Sin’s War Against Love,” Tabletalk Magazine, January 2018, Sanford, Florida.

(2) Dr. Albert Mohler, Jr, “Is the Enemy of My Enemy My Friend?” Tabletalk Magazine, January 2018, Sanford, Florida.

“Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” (Proverbs 3:13-17)

“Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you…Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her.” (Proverbs 4:6, 8)

Acceptable worship is one benefit of wisdom; other benefits include long life, riches, honor, pleasantness, and peace. This fruit of godly wisdom follows from trusting the Lord, humbling ourselves, turning away from self-righteousness and evil, honoring God with our wealth and accomplishments, and embracing God’s discipline (Proverbs 3:1-12). If we do not forsake God’s wisdom, she will keep, love, and guard us. The more we love her, the more we will be honored and exalted.

Proverbs 13:13-20 speaks of God’s blessing on the wise, much as the Beatitudes in Matthew 5:1-12 speak of God’s blessings for those who embrace the gospel approach to life. The wise are poor in spirit, mourners, meek, hungry and thirsty for righteousness, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers, and persecuted. Ah, did you think to be wise and carefree, or wise and superior? It is not possible, and those who know and fear God would not wish it to be so. They are blessed with all the benefits of being united to Jesus Christ. Knowing Christ and living for him is better than diamonds, sapphires, or rubies. He gives us adequate time on earth to enjoy him, lasting for all entity. We will have peace in the midst of our trials, spiritual riches when we are poor by earthly standards, and honor with him when we are dishonored for our views by the world in general, and by individuals.

Would you be wise? Are you willing to prize it highly, embracing it more than your opinions, worldly desires, or ambitions? If you seek wisdom proactively and with humility, you will reap the benefits, but if you are lazy, waiting for your “entitlement” of insight, well…you shouldn’t much in return. In what way will you actively submit to God for his wisdom today?

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28-29)

When I was a girl growing up in Baltimore, Maryland, our Reform Jewish family attended temple services on Friday night for Oneg Shabbat. If you saw me sitting in my seat in the sanctuary, reciting the Shema and other Hebrew prayers I would have looked quite reverent. However, my heart was far from God. I was usually thinking about how much longer the service would go and what kind of pastries were going to be served for refreshments afterward. But it’s not just that my mind wandered, our entire congregation was not worshipping the true God. It’s the same today for many church-goers, but shouldn’t be if we are worshipping God wisely and acceptably.

Wisdom in our worship includes remembering that God has given us his kingdom, through Christ. Did Christ have to die for me to worship as I do? * We are called to recognize the holiness of God, requiring the right sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. Only Christ has the righteousness that satisfies this condition, granting us the “not guilty” verdict from God, the Judge of all the earth. In Deuteronomy 4:23, we find this warning to our ancestors in the wilderness: “Take care, lest you forget the covenant of the Lord your God, which he made with you.” The wisdom we have in Christ provides us with reminders of God’s love poured out in his covenants. Once God’s people were under the law, but now they are freed from the law and are under the covenant of grace.

Neither God nor his kingdom has changed; both are unshakable, firm, reiable, and fixed. God’s glory is found in his domain, which is inhabited only by those who have received it from Christ. King Jesus holds the scepter of the kingdom, ruling in holiness, splendor, and awe. His kingdom is growing daily with the regenerated elect, the body that belongs to him. Because we are in Christ, we have the wisdom of Christ. Therefore, we can offer God acceptable worship, with reverence, humility, and awe that he expects. The goal of wise worship is the glory of God. Those who do not glorify God in Christ will experience his consuming fire, his wrath that devours all unacceptable worship and worshippers.

Will we, like the David, should approach worship rightly, remembering that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” “I, through the abundance of your steadfast love, will enter your house. I will bow down toward your holy temple in the fear of you.” (Psalm 5:7)

*Borrowed idea from Michael Horton, White Horse Inn, “Redemption” episode, in the series on Ephesians, January 21^st. The statement on his episode is “Did Christ have to die for this sermon [to be true]”?

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.” (James 1:5-8)

When you were a child, did your parents teach you about the importance of politeness? In my home, we were expected to say, “Please” whenever making a request, no matter how small. If it’s important to show respect to other people, it is even more vital to show respect to God. Just saying, “Please” doesn’t cut it with the Lord. God is generous, as we have seen this week, but, as James says, if we truly want God to give us his wisdom, we must ask in faith.

The context of James 1:1-18 has to do with learning from trials that test our faith. Mature Christians know that God uses our trials and afflictions to strengthen our trust in him. James writes specifically for the encouragement of the “twelve tribes in the Dispersion,” Jewish believers living in Syria and Babylonia, and possibly Egypt (v. 1). He seeks to help them live more consistently by their faith. We also desire this outcome and find his epistle especially helpful in for applying the doctrines of our faith to our own lives.

In verse 5 James gives one caveat for effective supplication, which is asking God without “doubting.” It makes sense that we are to pray to God for wisdom with complete faith in him and with confidence in his willingness to give it to us. We, who have experienced God’s faithfulness, compassion, sovereignty, and immutability in our trials are better able to ask for wisdom based on his character, not ours, which is usually shaky and questionable. There are some prayers that God will always answer in the affirmative; asking for wisdom to glorify him is one. The prerequisite is a firm belief in Christ, the work of Christ, and the work of the Holy Spirit in us. But let’s be honest, we all do doubt God in some way, either consciously or unconsciously, except for rare instances when the Holy Spirit takes over. Those are times of great refreshment to our souls.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” (Hebrews 4:14-15) This is wisdom!

“But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge…the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie-just as it has taught you, abide in him.” (1 John 2:20, 27)

If you have traveled outside your home country, you’ve experienced being in a completely different culture, with distinctive music, language, customs, patterns of traffic, and dress. You can feel it right away; there is a particular impression about the airport or train station, the people, and markets. This is a small and inadequate analogy for the difference between human wisdom and wisdom that which comes from Christ. Some children belong to Jesus from a young age and are used to the ways of the Spirit, who indwells them. It is as if they moved around the world in a military family and felt at home almost everywhere. Others, who have never traveled only know the customs of their home until they have been converted by grace in Christ. We are used to the human wisdom of the world and have learned to think like the world. But when Christ captures our hearts, the Holy Spirit comes to live in us and gives us an entirely different experience.

The apostle John writes that believers have been anointed by Jesus Christ, who is the Holy One (Mark 1:24; John 6:69; Acts 3:14). We who were dead in sin and darkness have been born again into eternal life, by the work of the Holy Spirit-who also teaches us all things of Christ. There is no higher wisdom than that of God, given to us through the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit in us, who sanctifies us, bringing us to increasing knowledge of biblical certainty. We no longer need or want any truth that does not conform to the gospel; we are confident of its veracity and dispute anything that does not submit to it. The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah spoke of this when he wrote, “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more'” (Jeremiah 31:34).

One of our most significant challenges is to learn to apply gospel wisdom to our lives. Relationships are both the most troublesome and the most pleasurable aspects of this world. We say we want higher wisdom from God but won’t commit to learning how to use it in one of the most critical facets of this life. But those with the Spirit have redemptive wisdom for more loving relationships.

How will you engage with the Holy Spirit to apply his wisdom more effectively to your relationships? “No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.” (1 John 4:12-13)

“We know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ.” (1 John 5:20a)

As a missionary in Africa with the Rafiki Foundation I had the joy of using the Rafiki Bible Study (RBS). The RBS starts in Genesis 1:1 and ends with Revelation 22:21, teaching every book of the Bible exegetically, including the revelation of Jesus Christ. I made an interesting observation among many of the adult African Christians, who had powerful personal testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ. Frequently, when a question would come up about how God reveals himself and is glorified, the answer would be that He makes himself known mainly through general revelation, in nature specifically. This is surprising since Christians have even more profound wisdom in the person of Jesus Christ.

The Old Testament is full of wisdom, and heavenly pleas for God to make this wisdom accessible. Psalm 119:18 says, “Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of your law.” Indeed, the Ten Commandments and statutes of the Old Covenant are full of glorious truths, when we view them as gifts of love from our Creator. By them, we know his character, desires, and expectations of us. Furthermore, Jesus came to fulfill the Law, every promise made by God in the Old Covenant, and the ministry of the temple sacrifices. (Matthew 5:17-18) As Mark wrote, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God” (Mark 4:11)

“Christians receive grace in order to grasp biblical teaching and receive the will to put it into practice.” * It is by the grace of Jesus Christ, through personal application to the study of wisdom that believers obtain profound biblical wisdom superseding all other knowledge and understanding. And it is through our Savior that we can put understanding into practice. In Christ, we can discern false teaching and subtle digressions from the truth. We have the mind of “Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments.” (1 Corinthians 2:16; Colossians 2:2-4).

When I study the Bible to write these devotions, teach a specific lesson, or for my spiritual growth, I usually check the cross-references for key verses of the passage I am studying, seeing the big picture of a doctrine or idea. In this way I expand my wisdom, asking God for the most in-depth understanding I may have, knowing that in Christ I have grace to put it into practice. How do you apply the grace of Christ to obtain greater wisdom from God’s Word?

* ESV Study Bible, “1 John,” Crossway, 2008.