[04ctd]

A Reflection on Wisdom

And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.ÔÇØ Isaiah

The Bible says that Paul both thanked God for the churches in and around Ephesus and that he prayed for them. Specifically we see that he prayed that they might be given ÔÇ£a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him [God].ÔÇØ

Note that he did not pray that they might learn to be wise or that they might somehow attain wisdom through their own efforts, but that God would give the church a spirit of wisdom and revelation. So we can see that God is not only the source of wisdom, He is the dispenser of wisdom as well.

In Isaiah we read these marvelous words: ÔÇ£And the Spirit of the Lord will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.ÔÇØ You may recognize that as a prophecy about Jesus, and you will know from your study of Jesus that He did indeed possess a spirit of wisdom and understanding.

You will also notice the similarities in IsaiahÔÇÖs prophecy and in PaulÔÇÖs prayer.

But there is an aspect to wisdom that we often forget, and it is phrased beautifully by C. S. Lewis in his book The PilgrimÔÇÖs Regress. The lines go like this:

ÔÇ£And what is this valley called?ÔÇØ
ÔÇ£We call it now simply WisdomÔÇÖs Valley: but the oldest maps mark it as the Valley of Humiliation.ÔÇØ
Every blessing,

My prayer is that you will find each day's devotions stimulating, inspiring, and thought provoking, and that in some way they will deepen your love for God and your love for GodÔÇÖs children. May your day be about HIM and full of GodÔÇÖs love, grace, mercy, protection and blessings....Glenn