Wisdom and Insight

Let your heart hold fast my words: keep my commandments and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth… The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Proverbs 4:4-7 ESV

We’ve all defended ideas or convictions that eventually turned out to be erroneous or misleading. Like the woman who always cut the ends off her pork roast before putting it into the oven. When her children asked why she did that, she said, “I learned that trick from my mom. It helps the ham cook more evenly.” Lo and behold, it turns out that her mother cut the ends off because the ham didn’t fit the pan. It had nothing to do with the cooking process.

God promises wisdom and insight to those who seek it. He is not stingy but pours it out upon those whose hearts and minds yearn for a deeper understanding of God and insight into His holy word.

Insight goes beyond mere knowledge. Insight is the ability to perceive spiritual truths and realities, often hidden from the natural mind. It’s a capacity for deep understanding of God’s will and purposes, and it’s frequently portrayed as a gift from the Holy Spirit. 

Ah, but there is one caveat: do we seek wisdom with the purpose of shoring up our personal beliefs and opinions or do we seek wisdom solely to gain insight into God’s purpose and plan regardless of whether or not it challenges our preconceived notions, political views, convictions, and what we believe is ‘God’s will’? Are we willing to ask God for insight even if it opposes our thinking of who God is and the way He works?

I think of the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were so certain they were walking in the path of truth. Yet Jesus contested their actions and conduct. I think of the disciples who were so certain that the Messiah would deliver them from political bondage. I think of the many who turned away from Jesus because He ‘spoke the words of truth’ and it disturbed them.

Jesus is willing to give insight and wisdom to those who ask – the question is, are you willing to receive it on His terms?

Prayer: Open my eyes, Lord. I want to see You. I want to see Truth. You are the source of all wisdom and insight. Open my mind to receive and understand, even if it upsets my personal beliefs and convictions. In Your name I pray, Amen.

Thought: Obedience to God’s will is the secret of spiritual knowledge and insight. It is not willingness to know, but willingness to DO (obey) God’s will that brings certainty. Eric Liddell