We live in a confusing world filled with big decisions and blurred lines. So it’s no surprise we sometimes feel ill-equipped to make sense of it all. We need wisdom. The Bible talks a lot about the purpose of wisdom and where to find it as we abide in Christ, but sometimes it’s hard to apply such an abstract subject to the messy details of everyday life.
Proverbs 1:23 reads, “If you turn at my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit to you; I will make my words known to you.”
In this passage, the writer reveals that wisdom originates from God himself. In the New Testament, Jesus is wisdom incarnate. So, likewise, every piece of wisdom you see in the world comes from God, even in secular settings. So, if wisdom is the knowledge of God applied to your daily life so you can live his way in his world, then you must spend time with him to receive it.
Wisdom Comes through Abiding In Christ
In Scripture, spending time with God is called abiding. Unfortunately, the word “abide” is not common in our current vernacular, so it’s easy for the meaning to get lost. Many Bible translations use the word “remain” instead. If we remain in Christ, our relationship with him grows. Abiding is where the relationship grows and deepens.
My family has made it a priority to have dinner together every night. Of course, this takes planning and grocery shopping, and sometimes it’s inconvenient for our schedule. Nevertheless, we choose to make this an important part of our routine because we know that’s how our relationships grow. We talk about our day, laugh together, learn more about each other, and enjoy each other’s company.
In the same way, when you abide in Christ, you learn to enjoy him. This relationship flourishes over a long period of time spent together. As you enjoy him and seek his ways, you will gain the wisdom and clarity available to you through Christ.
Proverbs 2:6 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” It comes directly from him. So when we need wisdom, we can go directly to the source.
Later, Proverbs 3:5-7 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.” This verse makes it clear that any effort to obtain wisdom on our own is nonsense. He will set the path straight before us. This doesn’t mean that the route will be easy. Sometimes doing the right thing requires more sacrifice. This is why we must fear the Lord. If we selfishly think our ideas are better than His, we will get into big messes. However, if we acknowledge his ways and turn from our own, He gives us what we need for the journey ahead.
God Gives Wisdom to Those Who Ask
Have you ever had a big decision to make and felt confused about what to do? It happens to all of us. Not long ago, God called my wife and me to make a decision that didn’t make sense to me at the time. Now that I look back, I see what was happening. I grew to understand it through lots of abiding with Christ. I started to see what I would describe as the peaks of God’s will poking through the clouds of confusion in my life.
How will you ever have wisdom? You will only know what to do or where to go if you seek the Lord. James 1:5 says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”
If you ask him for wisdom and seek it, He won’t hide it from you. However, there’s a difference between knowing the right thing and doing it. Putting wisdom into practice is hard. This is why we need to abide in Christ. Abiding is not just a once-and-done thing. It’s a continual daily thing. And in your life, it may be an hour-by-hour or minute-by-minute thing.
Believing in Christ alone does not guarantee that you will have unlimited wisdom. It only guarantees that you have access to unlimited wisdom. If you want wisdom, you must abide in Christ to receive it. This is the whole point of John 15:5 which says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
If abiding in Christ is so important, what does this look like practically?
- Carve out time to spend with Jesus.
When was the last time you spent significant undivided, undistracted time with Jesus? If that’s hard to answer, you might need to carve out intentional time in your schedule. He offers all the wisdom you need, but He won’t force you to spend time with him if you’re too busy. That relationship only grows when you value it enough to make that time important.
- Slow Down.
You might also suffer from anxiety and stress if you’re always rushing around and have difficulty slowing down enough to go to God in prayer. We weren’t created to be in a hurry all the time. God’s not in as big of a rush as you are. He’s not interested in how fast you can get through your prayer list. He’s interested in your heart. If you need help slowing down, you might enjoy reading The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.
- Spend more time in prayer, not less.
Sometimes it’s tempting to think of time with God as a quota. Then, once we’ve spent our daily time with him, we can check it off the to-do list. However, after you’ve slowed down enough to spend some quality moments with your Lord, I encourage you to spend even more time with Him just sitting in His presence. That unhurried time makes a big difference.
Wisdom is never as unattainable as it seems. Despite living in a world that twists truth and lies together in a tangled web of confusion, God knows how to set it all right and make your path straight. All He asks of you is to spend time with Him so He can show you. If you need ideas for how to apply this in your life, here are a few resources:
Next Steps
- Pray through the “RESET” acronym. Reset means:
Relationships: Ask for forgiveness or forgive others you’ve sinned against.
Environment: Sit and enjoy the beauty around you.
Scripture: Pray the truth of God’s word into your everyday life.
Emotions: Bring anxieties and stressors to God.
Thankfulness: Name things that you’re thankful for.
- Pray The Lord’s Prayer.
As you pray through each line, get specific. For example, when you pray, “your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” pray about specific things in your life that need redemption. When you pray against temptation, list the struggles you have. Get specific with the Lord.
- Practice praying a silent prayer.
Silent prayer is where you spend time with God in silence and solitude. Don’t talk. Just sit in his presence and spend time with Him. It felt awkward at first, but those times in my life when I took that next step of sitting in silence with him, thinking only about him, I had the most clarity I’ve ever had in my life. The most significant applications, wisdom, and vision God ever gave me came from those moments of silence and solitude. I pray you experience that same clarity and direction as you abide in Christ.
