God’s daily wisdom – for us, for life

20.04.21

Wisdom must surely be one of the most precious ‘commodities’ around. To make good decisions, good choices and to do what is right, as best we can, we need wisdom. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, wisdom is, “The quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement; the quality of being wise.” The biblical king, Solomon thought it to be so valuable that when God asked what gift He could give him, Solomon said this, “You have shown great kindness to David my father and have made me king in his place. Now, Lord God, let your promise to my father David be confirmed, for you have made me king over a people who are as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (2 Chronicles 1:8-10 NIVUK. Solomon showed great humility in the face of God’s question. He was already a king, in charge of a powerful nation; he could have asked for wealth, to be victorious in battle or have a fruitful reign. Instead, he recognised that he had been given responsibility for God’s people, and that what he needed were the tools to be able to rule over and lead them in the right way. Moreover, he recognised that the source and authority of his kingly power came from God, not himself.

God’s response to Solomon is quite amazing, “Since this is your heart’s desire and you have not asked for wealth, possessions or honour, nor for the death of your enemies, and since you have not asked for a long life but for wisdom and knowledge to govern my people over whom I have made you king, therefore wisdom and knowledge will be given you. And I will also give you wealth, possessions and honour, such as no king who was before you ever had and none after you will have.” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12 NIVUK). God was clearly pleased with Solomon’s request, giving him what he asked for – and material and relational riches on top!

Solomon, is renowned for his wisdom (in fact he was clearly wise in the first place, to ask God to be more so!) but what about us? Most of us aren’t king of God’s people. Can we too obtain this most precious gift and the benefits of using it? Well, yes, we can. Solomon himself tells us, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6 NIVUK). And the apostle James writes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.” (James 1:6-7)  We can ask, it will be given; but to receive it, we must truly trust in God and His will.

To receive this Godly wisdom, we, like Solomon, need to approach God with humility, because “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10 NIVUK) We first need to acknowledge that God is Lord over our lives and follow him, giving ourselves over as living sacrifices (as Paul write in Romans 12:2) and let Jesus lead us, instead of our selfish, sinful desires.

And, because, “knowledge of the Holy One is understanding,” we also need to get to know God. Which means spending time with Him and reading His written Word – in the Bible. Its pages are so full of wisdom (and encouragement to get wisdom – mainly from Solomon) that it would probably take many lifetimes to read and take all its treasures in. Thankfully, most of us can freely access a Bible and read it, with its gifts of wisdom just waiting for us. That’s why we at IBRA love to read the Bible every day, and encourage others to do so too; because it enriches our relationship with God and helps give us the wisdom, He wants us to have, for life.

If you want to go deeper in your relationship with God and your Bible reading, or even if you’re just starting out, we hope you’ll find our Bible reading notes helpful – Click here to access Fresh from The Word 2021 – Bible reading notes

Get your copy of Fresh From the Word 2021 today! Only £5 for 365 days of readings. Available to purchase from our online shop.

Other blog posts for you to read:

10 Tips to help you read the Bible: It’s not always easy to read the Bible, sometimes there’s no space, no time and you don’t know where to begin. So here are our ten top tips to help you read the Bible and engage with God through His Word. Read them here 

Want to go deeper into the Bible? Keep going! It’s often just as hard to keep going at something as it was to start it. If you need some ideas to help you persevere, and keep going with your daily Bible reading then read our blog ‘5 ways to ensure you stick to your Bible reading plan’