What is the Real Benefit of Godly Wisdom?
Café Menu for Wednesday, November 12, 2014
Today’s Special is: How Godly Wisdom Leads to True Happiness
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Brenda Rodgers
Main Ingredient:
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding
Proverbs 3:13 RSV
Entrée:
Shortly after New Year’s Day one year, my boyfriend told me that he was moving back to Texas, which meant we would no longer date. I was 29 years old at the time and tired of being single. This news crushed me.
So I decided that I would leave my home state, where all of my friends and family lived, and move to Texas, too, so that we could continue to date. The only problem was my boyfriend didn’t want to continue to date me. But I thought that if I just went ahead and moved he would change his mind.
I did some finagling and got my job to transfer me to Texas. Then, about a month before I was supposed to move, I began to have second thoughts. I told my company I would not be able to move to Texas. However, in the meantime, they filled my position in my home state. I no longer had a job.
Of course, looking back, I wonder how I could have been so naïve. Sure, Job 12:12 tells us,
Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days,
and this is true. I was young. However, my lack of wisdom was not because of my age. My lack of wisdom was because I did not fear the Lord.
Proverbs 9:10 says,
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.
Experience is a part of wisdom, but wisdom starts with fearing the Lord. What does it mean to “fear the Lord”? Fearing the Lord doesn’t mean to be afraid of the Lord. It doesn’t mean to fear punishment or condemnation.
John Piper explained “fearing the Lord” when he said,
Fearing the Lord means fearing to run away from him. It means fearing to seek refuge, and joy, and hope anywhere other than in God. It means keeping before our eyes what a fearful prospect it is to stop trusting and depending on God to meet our needs
(“Get Wisdom”, a sermon by John Piper).
My 29-year-old self wasn’t seeking refuge, joy, or hope in God. Nor was I trusting and depending on Him. Instead, I used earthly wisdom that says I need to get for myself whatever will make me happy. In this case, I needed to keep my boyfriend and get married.
I chased happiness through a man and the desire for marriage, and I made idols out of them, instead of looking to God to meet my needs. By doing this I forfeited the wisdom God gives us when we fear Him.
Take Out:
John Pipergoes on to explain that all of us are seeking happiness, and this is good because God created us for an eternal happiness. However, godly wisdom is what gives us true happiness.
Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gets understanding
Proverbs 3:13 RSV
Godly wisdom gives us true happiness because it gives us hope in the future. Proverbs 24:13–14 says,
there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off
(italics added)
We get godly wisdom by fearing what our future will look like without God.
Dessert:
Oh Lord, the world’s wisdom is so enticing when all I can see is what I think will make me happy. Please forgive me when I follow what seems to be right in my own eyes (Proverbs 14:12), and remind me that it is only a temporary reprieve. Only through Your wisdom that comes from “the fear of the Lord” will I find true happiness that gives me a hopeful future. Reveal to me daily what fearing you looks like, and give me the grace to make that my reality. Thank You, Lord Jesus, for always giving me wisdom when I ask for it (James 1:5). Amen.
© 2014 by Brenda Rodgers. All rights reserved.
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