Our entire life we are trained to navigate life’s obstacles by doing what WE think is best. “Listen to your heart,” is the message promoted by Hollywood. As long as the circumstances are controllable, it generally works out. However, when situations befall us that reveal our powerlessness and the futility of our own wisdom—what then? When none of the “experts” have answers, it is then, my friend, that we often find ourselves headed for despair. We find that no amount of money, science, technology, or human power can give us the peace and wisdom we need to weather some types of storms. Especially, the kind of storms that seem senseless. Interestingly enough, we tend to blame God—even when we were not trusting Him in the first place.
Don’t wait for the valley of despair to learn the truth about WHO you can completely trust for the answers to the problems of life.
Start now! In the book of Job, we see a man who suffered unimaginable losses. He was rich, had a large family, was well-respected, healthy, and—he was a VERY godly man—caring for the poor and the downtrodden (Job 29). Within days, he inexplicably lost it all. His “wise” and “godly” friends; indeed, even his wife, surmised he had sinned and God was punishing him. They sorely misjudged the wisdom of God. We ALL often do.
But, God is so good that He provides a way for us to have His divine wisdom at our disposal!
Of God’s wisdom, Job said:
Where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?
Man does not know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.
The deep says, “It is not in me” and the sea says, “It is not with me.”
It cannot be purchased for gold, nor can silver be weighed for its price. It cannot be valued in the gold of Ophir, in precious onyx or sapphire. Neither gold nor crystal can equal it, nor can it be exchanged for jewelry of fine gold.
From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding?
It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air.
Destruction and Death say, “We have heard a report about it with our ears.”
God understands its way, and He knows its place.
For He looks to the ends of the earth, and sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure.
When He made a law for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out.
And to man He said, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, THAT is WISDOM, and to depart from evil is understanding.“
Job 28:12-17, 20-28
We may never completely understand what happened to Job, or the inexplicably terrible things that happen to us; but we can know this—that our God is trustworthy! There is a vast difference between God’s “divine wisdom,” and our human wisdom. Job and his friends lacked divine wisdom to interpret Job’s circumstances accurately and we often do too—especially when we are buried in the throes of our own sorrow.
Divine wisdom is rare and priceless.
We cannot purchase it. God possesses it all. When we know Him, we know what we need to know most. He does the rest. We can trust the ONE who believed that we were worth dying for. This knowledge should strongly motivate us to draw as close to Him as possible! That is why God says that man’s best wisdom is found by fearing God (making Him the Lord of our life) and living righteously. The miraculous thing is that, when we’re living close to God, it allows us to operate in HIS wisdom. This is especially critical when we’re going through tough times because—although we may not know WHY it is happening—we KNOW we can trust God.
When we are born again, we have taken the first step towards living in God’s divine wisdom. The more we intentionally place God in control of our life, the more that our way of thinking is transformed. Only then will we realize our suffering presents another opportunity to accelerate our trust in His wisdom. God has a unique plan and purpose for each of us.
The closer we live to God, the more we experience the presence of Divine wisdom.
We would love to hear your thoughts about this devotional. Did God speak to you or challenge your daily walk with him? Or is there a topic that you would like Kimberly to cover or expound on? Please share with us in the comments below.
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8 Responses
I was baptized 20 yrs ago and moved away from that church! I have been trying to renew my walk with Jesus but, I’m not sure how to do that? I have been following a church online and I’m not sure if I should be baptized again? I know the Bible says one baptism!? Can you give me any advice? I can’t seem to feel the Holy Spirit! So desperate to find Jesus!!
Baptism is an act of obedience after you have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior. It does not need to be repeated just because you go to another true New Testmanet church. Not feeling close to God is another matter. Remember, it’s not God who leaves us. It’s always us. Here are two devotionals that might help you, but you should also consider getting connected in a church. Obedience to God draws us close to Him. https://gofaithstrong.com/feelings-control-your-life/
https://gofaithstrong.com/the-cure-for-insecurity-confidence-in-god/
Blessings,
Kimberly
God did speak to me in this devotional! Thank you for all of these wonderful Devotional remainders that help in my walk with the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ! Much love to all that make these available to us!
Amen! God is so good!
it was articulated very well.
Praise God!
What is it like after death and when do we go to Heaven, after death or on His return, from what I understand the Bible has it both ways, making it more confusing. This is something that has always confused me and I would like to understand it, thank you in advance if I get an answer.
Thanks for the question. Here are some thoughts that seem to be on point from God’s Word.
As our Lord Jesus suffered on the cross, another condemned prisoner sought forgiveness. Our Lord’s response to the repentant thief’s request refutes both the doctrine of soul sleep and the belief in purgatory:
One of the criminals who were hanged railed at him, saying, “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other rebuked him, saying, “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.” And he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” And he said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:39–43, ESV).
Jesus did not say, “After a determined time of misery and suffering, you will be with me in paradise”; neither did He say, “After an extended period of unconscious stupor, you will regain sentience and be with me in paradise.” According to the promise of Jesus, the repentant thief would join his Savior in paradise that very day.
So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–8, ESV).
Here, the apostle Paul did not say to be away from the body is to cease consciousness until the resurrection. And he did not say to be out of the body was to be at home in purgatory.
In Jesus’ story of the rich man and Lazarus, the beggar died, and “the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” (Luke 16:22). This seems to have been an immediate event, with no lapse of time between Lazarus’ death and his being picked up by the angels. In John’s vision of heaven, he sees “under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained” (Revelation 6:9). As these believers in heaven await vengeance and the resurrection of their bodies, they converse with the Lord. It seems that, as soon as they were martyred, they were in heaven.
At the death of a believer, his or her disembodied spirit immediately enters the joyful presence of our Lord Jesus. At the rapture, the saint’s spirit joins his or her resurrected body—a glorified body impervious to the ravages of aging, illness, disease, suffering, and death (1 Corinthians 15:42–53). At the close of Jesus’ millennial reign, heaven as it is passes away, and God unveils the New Jerusalem, our eternal home (Revelation 21:1–4). Our present mortal bodies are not fit for eternity, but our new bodies will never become ill, grow old, or die. We shall live gloriously with Him in perfect bodies throughout the endless ages of eternity.
With this end in mind, the apostle Paul broke out in joyous apostrophe: “‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:55–57, ESV).
https://www.gotquestions.org/immediately-go-to-heaven.html
Hope this helps!