SEARCHLIGHT
Would people consider you to be wise?
SCRIPTURE
If you want to live well, make sure you understand all of this. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll learn this inside and out. God’s paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling. Hosea 14:9 THE MESSAGE
Who is wise? Let them realize these things. Who is discerning? Let them understand. The ways of the Lord are right; the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them. Hosea 14:9 NIV
SPOTLIGHT
Are you living wisely? If the answer to that question is “YES!”, I know some things about you even though I do not know you.
In the first place, you are not naive about life by presuming things will work out as long as you hope for the best. Neither are you emotionally driven. The poet said it eloquently, “There was a young lady from Niger, who smiled as she rode on a tiger. They came back from the ride with the lady inside and the smile on the face of the tiger.” You have realized that knowing what is wise leads to doing what is wise. True wisdom is never just possessing intelligence but practicing it in real life.
In the second place, you are a good listener who seeks to learn. Another poet described the importance of listening in order to learn, “A wise old owl sat on an oak; the more he saw the less he spoke; the less he spoke the more he heard; let’s try to imitate that bird.” You have realized that listening and asking questions opens the door to wisdom.
And thirdly, you have come to value having a personal relationship with God. Like Abraham Lincoln, you pray. On more than one occasion, Lincoln said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that of those about me seemed insufficient for the day.” You have realized you have personal wisdom but desperately need divine wisdom.
In today’s Scripture focus, the prophet Hosea concludes his book with this powerful statement about WISE LIVING IS LIVING WELL. Read it again. A university can grant you a degree for achieving knowledge but only God can tell you what is best for you. Proverbs 2:6 states, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” A reverence for God leads to experiencing a well-balanced life. Psalm 111:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.”
The prophet Hosea teaches us in Hosea 14:9 that wise living comes from realizing 4 things:
- Wisdom cannot be wisdom if it lacks understanding and application. You possess wisdom when you know what to do, how to do it, and then go and do it. Divine wisdom is always lived. It defines life and how to live it. “Wisdom is to the soul what health is to the body.” [La Rochefoucauld] Being wise is not just gaining insight but applying that insight to life.
- Wisdom realizes that God’s ways are right and true. Man has the privilege to choose what is right, what to believe and what path to follow in life. Only God knows what is right and true. Only His path leads to living a well-balanced life. Being wise is admitting that you do not know what is the best for your life without asking God.
- Wise living people walk God’s path rather than their own path. They are right with God. They realize truth begins with and comes from God. You possess wisdom which leads to living well when you choose to walk with God and follow His path. You approach life from God’s point of view rather than your own.
- Wrong living people are rebellious toward God and His ways. When they try following God’s paths, they stumble and trip. Their heart is not in it. They prefer to pick and choose what they want God to tell them. They do not take the privilege to practice James 1:5 which states, “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.”
SOMETHING TO DO
You may be brilliant but are you wise? Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you understand how to apply the wisdom you possess? Are you practicing wisdom?
- Do you believe that God is all wise and wants to give to you His wisdom for living?
- Do you live by God’s truth and standards? Are you walking His path to living well?
- Do you pick and choose what God desires for you to do? Do you try to live your way and sometimes God’s way?
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Almighty God, you are all wise. There is no one wiser than You. Thank you for the privilege of personally knowing You through Your Son, Jesus Christ. I believe what the Bible says in Colossians 2:3,10: “In whom, {Christ}, are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge…you have been given the fullness in Christ.” Thank you for Godly wisdom. Guard me from becoming a wise guy rather than living well by Godly wisdom. AMEN!