One of my favorite things to pray for these days, is wisdom. According to Google, wisdom is the quality of having experience, knowledge, and good judgement, it is the quality of being wise.

The wisdom of God is such a beautiful thing. In the Book of James 1:5, we were advised to ask from God if we lack wisdom. It is one of the few things the Scripture explicitly admonishes us to ask from God. If wisdom weren’t so important, God would not have dedicated a whole book of the Bible to emphasize it. Little wonder why God was so impressed with King Solomon’s choice request.  

Wisdom brings about ease. Have you ever heard of the phrase “work hard but work smarter”? This is what that saying refers to. While the place for hard work is not eliminated, smart work can bring ease into the equation. We live in an age where everyone wants what is not just effective but what is also efficient. That is why we changed from bicycles to cars, from landlines to smartphones, from buses to trains. Wisdom teaches you how to work smart, it is not enough to work hard. A perfect example is Moses and the Israelites. For some time, Moses was the one settling disputes; whether small or big between the Israelites, I’m referring to 2 million people or more. He was working hard alright but in all honesty, it must have been overwhelming. But, when wisdom entered the equation, things made more sense. It took Jethro (Moses’s father-in-law) to suggest that Moses appoint judges to take care of these matters so he can get on with other duties (Exodus 18). Wisdom took him from working unnecessarily hard, to working smart. The same is applicable to our lives. Some steps we take that seem like great steps because of how much labor and effect we’re getting may not really be imperative. The Wisdom of God opens our eyes to see better options and avenues to attain even more effective results.

“Wisdom teaches you how to work smart, it is not enough to work hard.”

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The Wisdom of God influences our decisions. We make better decisions when we are under the influence of God’s wisdom- it’s only logical that that happens. When you are sharing the mind of God, thinking like He would, your judgement would be better because you understand the implication of decisions you would have taken, better. What made King Solomon so great a King was not his prowess or riches but his wisdom which he got from God. He was able to make the right decisions, his strategy of thinking would have been exceedingly meticulous because he had God’s wisdom upon him. Even his finances were flourishing because he had the wisdom of God influencing his decisions. Therefore, you would not invest in the wrong business when you walk in wisdom, you would not be in a haste to close a deal that could harm you financially, you would not insist on following through a path that would lead you to perdition. Scripture even tells us in Ecclesiastes 10:10 that wisdom is profitable to direct.

Wisdom from God helps us to understand His plans. At times God tells us to do the “craziest” things. He could tell you to do a thing and it literally seems like a bad or simply unconventional idea but with wisdom, you would easily catch on what His actual plans are. When Jesus was at a wedding in Cana and His mom came to report to Him that wine had finished and He would need to do something about it, He did something too unconventional. I mean, why would you tell me to fill up jars with water when I’m panicking about there being no more wine at my party? Mary, His mother had however lived with Him too long to not have an impartation of His wisdom in her. Before Jesus gave instructions, she already told the servants to do whatever He asks. She knew too well that the Man before them tends to do things in an uncommon fashion. Lo and behold, all the jars that were filled with water, Jesus turned into wine (John 2:1-11). The implication of this is that God’s instructions may not always make sense at first instance to us but wisdom helps us to see the end result from the beginning. 

It is absolutely impossible to exhaust the vastness of what the wisdom of God does for and to a man however, it is crystal clear that life is sweeter when you are led by the wisdom of God.  Wisdom would help you make better decisions. Wisdom well applied would keep you from straying away from God. Wisdom would give you insights to mysteries of the Spirit that could not have been understood by surface knowledge.

Moreover, it is important that we note that the Scripture says “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10, Psalms 111:10; Job 28:28). Anyone who lacks regard for God, who does not reverence God is yet to gain wisdom. Wisdom starts with honouring God, with our hearts, body, mind and souls.

“Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you; love her, and she will watch over you. Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” Proverbs 4:6-7 NIV