Wisdom

Matthew 11:19 (21st Century King James Version)

The son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, "Behold, a gluttonous man and winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!" But wisdom is justified by her children.

I've always remembered this verse as saying, "But wisdom is proved right by her actions." There were other variations of this verse which were closer to my memory, but this one stood out at me and I decided to use it. Most likely it was because of its reference to children.

The story of King Soloman has always intrigued me. As a 6 year old little girl, I can remember being curled up on the couch with my Mom as she read me the story of the two prostitutes who were fighting over a baby. The first time I heard the story, I was mortified when it came to the part where King Soloman ordered the baby cut in half!!! I thought this guy was supposed to be wise!

After the resolution of the story, and the sparing of the baby's life, I was in awe of this wisdom that I had heard for the first time. I wanted to know what he knew, and I wanted to know the God that he worshiped.

I would petition the Lord each night, asking for this wisdom that only He could bestow....I wanted to serve Him, and Him only....I wanted to please him. Every time I would make this request, I would be plagued with thoughts like, "You are only asking for this because you know Soloman got riches too....you know that's why you are asking for this!!"

I now know that those thoughts were not from God, nor were they from my heart. We all have these moments where we ask for what is upright and pure, but are held down by thoughts and unworthy feelings. Paul talks about this in Romans, a struggle between wanting to do what's right, but being overcome with the thoughts and actions that the sinful body urges us to do.

I continued to pursue my request.

God has blessed me with moments of wisdom. He has spoken to me and guided me through situations that I felt were hopeless. He has opened my eyes to the True gift of wisdom, which is expressed in Love....not grand gestures and loud voices....it is in seeing someone's hurt, and holding their hand through it.

I have to be honest, I expected that this gift would be a 'one time' thing that would just show up in the right times and people would recognize it right away in me....what I failed to realize is that it no longer rests with me when I'm looking for outside recognition. (This is called arrogance)

The Lord giveth and He taketh away. This message applies to each gift we are blessed with. If you fail to follow Christ's path, you no longer allow the Spirit to work through you. Without the spirit, your gifts no longer work.

The particular verse I used today (at top) opened my eyes to a new revelation in my life. The wisdom God bestowed on me was to be used to raise my children. He did not intend for me to be some great guru that the world would hear (we have enough of those!), no....His plans were far more important! I was called to raise my children to be servants for Christ, and to do so, I needed His wisdom to handle the unpredictable nature of my children.

The times that I 'try' to sound wise, words get jumbled and mixed. The times that the words I share have profound effects on others, I don't even remember thinking them through....and I'm sure I didn't, I merely let the Spirit flow through my mouth or finger tips.

I need to learn to let the Spirit flow more freely in my life.

Lord, I thank you for your presence in my life. I thank you for the blessings you have trusted me with, and I pray that you continue to reveal the purpose you have for me and my family as we come before you in humility. I pray that you keep showing me the areas of arrogance that I need to work on, and instill in me the love you have for all of your children. Amen.