Wisdom from God

So far, we have seen Mary, Joseph, Zechariah, and Elizabeth receiving divine messages from the Lord. Scripture teaches us that no matter what it costs us, we must get wisdom. What does it take to receive the wisdom of God?

Wisdom is the ability to make good and wise decisions for us and those under our authority. The wisdom for these decisions is the result of understanding what God knows about people, about the world, and about the spiritual realm.

Scripture teaches us to test the spirit in all things to know the source. The Holy Spirit has given us the mind of Christ to be able to understand the spirit in which every person operates in each given moment. This understanding to know what is from God and what is not then gives us the ability to accept or reject, to join in or avoid, to acquiesce or walk away.

These four were given an understanding that this baby was the Messiah. They understood what seemed like an unfaithful woman and an overly-compassionate man was actually the family chosen for the Messiah. And now, the shepherds have joined this company as receivers of wisdom from Heaven.

There are two things that stand out in all of them.

First, they are righteous. They are serving God in obedience. They are not doing the right thing to get something. Rather they received wisdom because they were living in the righteousness of the Lord, not simply in the letter, but in spirit as well. They had understood the righteous love of God then chose to allow Him to transform this so they embodied His likeness in their spirit to a high degree. If we want wisdom, we must live a life full of the righteous love of God.

Second, they were humble. Their righteousness did not cause them to expect anything. They did not walk around as if their righteousness had earned them anything from the Lord. Instead, they did not see themselves as anything more than servants to the Most High God.

A lack of obedience would require God to bless our sin should He give us Heaven’s wisdom while we live like heathens. Pride would move us to use the wisdom of God for our own purposes. To be ready to receive from the Lord, we must embrace righteous living and a humble experience as a servant.

Prayer: Lord, help me to live according to your heart made known through Your word, and help me never to become arrogant from all You reveal to me. Amen.