Knowledge and Wisdom

Praise the Lord!
I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people.
How amazing are the deeds of the Lord!
All who delight in him should ponder them.
Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty.
His righteousness never fails.
He causes us to remember his wonderful works.
How gracious and merciful is our Lord!
He gives food to those who fear him; he always remembers his covenant.
He has shown his great power to his people by giving them the lands of other nations.
All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy.
They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity.
He has paid a full ransom for his people.
He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever.
What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!
Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom.
All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom.
Praise him forever!                Psalm 111 (NLT)

Lectionary texts: 1 Kings 2:10-12, 3:3-14, Psalm 11, Ephesians 5:15-20, John 6:51-58

This week God will be speaking to me about His knowledge and wisdom of which He has plenty and is willing to give to me freely. If I really consider His many gifts, is there anything better to ask God for?

In 1 Kings 2 I am told that King Solomon pleased God and so God told him to ask for “anything”. Solomon asked God for wisdom which pleased God even more and He answered Solomon’s request. And while we know that King Solomon utilized that wisdom (see the “Who’s baby is it?” story in 1 Kings 3), we also know that he sometimes did not use God’s wisdom (had too many wives that turned him away from God, 1 Kings 11).

Psalm 111 was so completely wonderful and filled with things to think about that I put the entire psalm here so that you would be sure to receive that blessings! The psalms are just the perfect tool that helps me to express so many different emotions. Today it is thanksgiving for the many varied ways that God has blessed me with His knowledge and wisdom. These free gifts are not only mine but also mine to give away as God gives in such abundance that they can just flow through me.

John 6 speaks about the “food” God gives just as the psalm did. Jesus is trying to get people to understand that He is God-in-the-flesh and it is through Him that we find all that we need. In the case of knowledge and wisdom, I can hear knowledge and wisdom through Jesus’ teachings, His way of speaking and treating people, and the way He always points to the Father and His promises. I will never “hunger” for the things of this world that never completely satisfy if I feast on the bread, the knowledge of God.

Ephesians 5 passage is like the closing hymn that tells me to live in God’s wisdom. Let my life be soaked in God’s wisdom. That happens as I spend time with Him every day in the study of His Word and in our conversations (prayer) and live out the wisdom that He freely gives to me. And speak those psalms, hymns and spiritual songs like sweet music in my heart and to others.

Oh my friends, may we get some holy fear if we do not make the seeking and asking God for His knowledge and wisdom a priority in our lives!

Breathe written and sung by Michael W. Smith (2000)