I was recalling this evening that I began 2012 with a challenge to myself. My friends often choose a word for themselves as a theme for their year, and last January I chose a word for myself. I chose the word wisdom. I was feeling like I needed wisdom to help me in my life; manage people and time well, make good decisions, be a better friend, etc. I was floundering a bit, and I could feel it leaking into all areas of my life. A little help from God and an extra dose of wisdom would be just the ticket.
As I look back, I really think I was looking for wisdom in areas of life that are secondary. I'm going to term it "worldly wisdom" because I was seeking answers to problems that had to do with my worldly life, and not much existed beyond that. What God has been accomplishing in my life since then is what I consider to be "spirit wisdom," and I am finding that its principles are much easier to grab ahold of. Worldly wisdom was case by case, which is why I was having trouble getting any of it. Spirit wisdom has been deep and frighteningly simple: trust God; believe Him; when it's bothering you, hand it off to God; let Him take care of you, remember that He loves you. There.
A verse came to me this evening that I've overlooked way too often because I've seen it printed on too many bookmarks and calendars. However, looking beyond the Christian commercialism, this verse really does encapsulate God's intention for us:
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and He will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)
God leads us. If we've agreed to allowing ourselves to be put where He wants us, we will be there, our paths will be straight. I haven't done a word study on what it means to have a straight path, but I think it may have something to do with feeling like God's wisdom is upon you and His will is working through you. Thus, being in His will and having access to his power and wisdom is about trust, about giving your life up, about being less you and more Christ in you.
Hopefully, now that it's taken me 11 months to figure out what kind of wisdom I've been seeking, He will begin to bestow more of it upon me. I really did need it to begin with, I know that for sure.
