King Solomon had a job to rule and judge his people. He declared his insufficiency in the task God had placed on his shoulders and sought help from the Task-Master. In asking for wisdom as his sole request from God to help him do his work, he gives an example to us that we should also seek divine wisdom to help us with our daily tasks, whether in our careers or businesses. (1 Kings 3:7-12)
A job done under the direction of the Holy Spirit, brings about success and glorifies God. After all, if we ask the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom, and the task comes out excellent, we cannot keep the commendations and glory for ourselves. We will be quick to acknowledge that the grace of God made our work possible, that it directed the efforts we put in, and blessed us with the strength we used to do it. We will thus be casting our crowns before His Throne and our work will be another way of worshiping His Majesty.
As Christians, we have no excuse to lack Godly wisdom. It is one of the spiritual blessings we are expressly promised we will receive upon asking, even as God in His infinite wisdom has designed it as a multi-step blessing.
To make it easier for us, there are no conditions attached to it, apart from being children of God. Why? God knows that wisdom will transform us and give us a heart that ultimately pleases Him, so there are no pre-conditions to its acquisition. Getting Godly wisdom puts us in good stead to live Godly lives. Scripture teaches that the very first stage of wisdom is a fear of God. (Proverbs 9:10)
The Apostle James makes it crystal clear in the first chapter of his letter (Vs.5), imploring us to ask God for wisdom if we feel deficient in the virtue. This is one example of where “Ask and you shall receive” is a given, because Godly wisdom is good for our souls and is part of God’s design for us. As James also pointed out, oftentimes, we ask for blessings and do not receive because we are asking wrongly, to spend on our personal passions. (James 4:3-10)
He goes a step further to explain to us that this divine wisdom is very different from earthly wisdom. We can expect that once we begin to ask God for wisdom and discernment everyday, we will begin to experience a holy fear of the Lord, and gradually become “pure, peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering and without hypocrisy.”
Jesus assured us that our heavenly Father who knows our thoughts, also knows all our needs. Yet He implored us not to behave like pagans when we talk to our Father, but to seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, then all those things we need will be added unto those spiritual blessings. (Matthew 6:32)
King Solomon lived before the era of Jesus yet even before he asked for understanding, he was blessed with enough insight to know that he needed Godly wisdom to be a successful king. He had wealth and power, and now he had wisdom to go with both gifts, so that he could do a lot of good with both his spiritual and temporal blessings, and not damage his soul or his relationship with God.
May we also be blessed with enough insight to understand why we need to seek divine wisdom everyday. May our lives reflect the character of Godly wisdom and influence those we encounter on a daily basis. May Godly wisdom help us to prosper and be successful in all that we do. Amen in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen to the glory of God’s name.
(Excerpts culled from an upcoming book: Wisdom from my Heavenly Father & Wisdom from my Earthly Father, Leila Peters, Spring 2021.)
Hilltop Thoughts, Valley Strengths 