God’s Wisdom

Pj & Jasmine Hill

Wisdom is a capacity of the mind that allows us to understand life from God’s perspective. Throughout the book of Proverbs, Solomon encourages us to get wisdom. (Proverbs 4:5). He says those who get wisdom love life (19:8); that it’s better to get wisdom than gold (16:16); and that those who get wisdom find life and receive favor from the Lord (8:32 – 35).

Yet in Ecclesiastes 7:23-24 Solomon also makes clear that getting wisdom is a challenging process: “ ‘I am determined to be wise’, but this was beyond me. Whatever exists is far off and most profound — who can discover it?”

1. Fear God. Solomon says the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). But how should we fear God? By contrasting filial fear with servile fear. Filial fear is the type of respect and love a child has for a parent, a fear of offending the one they most adore and trust. In contrast, servile fear is the kind of fear that a prisoner has for his jailer or executioner.

2. Desire wisdom. The second step to getting wisdom is to desire it with all our heart. As Solomon says, we must “look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure” (Proverbs 2:4).

3. Pray for wisdom. As James tell us, “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).4. Study God’s Word. Studying and meditating on God’s Word (Psalm 19:7). We shouldn’t rely merely on our own understanding, though, but lean on the wisdom and insight produced by Christians throughout history.

To get wisdom we must fear God, study his Word and prayerfully desire to understand life from God’s perspective.