“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.” James 1:5
Ahhh, isn’t God good? He promises to give us wisdom, regardless of who we are. No strings attached here! God does not say we have to beg or jump through hoops to receive wisdom from Him. He instructs us to ask and trust Him to keep His promise.
But there is one more step; we must realize we now have the wisdom we asked for.
Herein lies most of our missteps.
If we took God at His word that when we asked for wisdom, He automatically gave it to us, then why do we make so many bad choices?
Recently I had a run-in with a rather dangerous kitchen appliance. I wanted sliced apples that I could later air-fry and enjoy as a treat because I am trying to make better choices for my body. And it sure would be nice to fit into a smaller size jeans too!
I had wisdom enough to know the slicer was dangerous. I even had the guard provided for me by the company that made the slicer within my reach, including a pair of safety gloves the company threw in for free!
Did I use any of the safety gear I was provided? Nope.
Why? Because although I had wisdom, I did not use wisdom.
Instead, I spent the night in agonizing pain, made a somewhat uncomfortable and expensive trip to the E.R, and found myself not being able to fully dress myself and constantly needing help from my husband; who, by the way was constantly helping me with my every need. He’s a keeper!
We often complain about what we do not have when in reality we have all we need; we just have chosen not to recognize it when making decisions or choices in life.
If we would admit it, we are blessed, and we certainly have been given wisdom if we have ever asked for it. So, in recognizing these truths to ourselves or even being brave enough to admit them to others, like I just did with you, what could it be that keeps us from applying the wisdom we have been given?
I believed I could “be careful” and do this on my own. I laugh about it now because the company went to great lengths to keep me safe, but I thought I knew better.
I wonder if you are anything like me; have you asked for wisdom but do not apply it?
If this is stepping on your toes a little, then you are in good company. Not one of us is perfect. Not one of us will do things just right every time, but if we learn to ask God for wisdom and then apply that wisdom we can certainly side-step a lot of pain along the way.
