We start our day with this great hope that every work we undertake will be successful, producing the desired best results for and in us. But after sometime, with more understanding it looks wrong and we are filled with remorse for not doing it some other way. But God has blessed us to be His children to live in His power and authority, then why do we falter in life?
Reasons for different levels of wisdom in mankind – Since the time of creation of everything, you and I are born at this time and age, in a specific place and family, it is not a random lottery system that God uses. There is a purpose in everything and the time of it to happen. The Israelites repeatedly continued to sin against God and after a long wait, finally, God permitted their being carried into captivity in Babylon. After revealing the time of captivity for seventy years, God encouraged the people, ‘I know the thoughts that I think toward you’; says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope’ (Jeremiah 29:10-11). The message from God was, see, I have not forgotten you, though you did, and yet still I love you and care for you.
Any individual who is unable to take care and provide for himself due to some biological reason is called, ‘differently abled’ to avoid hurting him or the parents of that child. But I feel that this word actually defines the truth about that person’s status. I feel the reason for a child closing his hands and his fingers, is that his soul is attached to the Creator and still clings to Him. As he grows we start opening his hands and lead him to cling to the mother or the father and then other worldly things. A differently abled, as per the worldly perspective is unable to manage in this world. But, I feel, he is not interested in leaving the hand of God and shifting his focus on the earthly matters. During his time on earth, the parents, as per God’s plan, are taught to look towards God and depend on Him and learn humility and patience. God in His love has blessed that child in ways that we are unable to perceive and call him ‘differently abled’. We may say, why does God not intervene and help him lead a normal life? That is the decision of the free will given to everyone to choose what he decides to be best for him. God’s plan stands perfect but we decide whether we want to receive the blessing or not.
Moses was sent by God with all power and authority to lead His people out of bondage of Egypt to freedom (Exodus 7:2-3). He was then told, ‘But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt’. When Joseph was appointed the Wazir or Prime Minister of Egypt by the then Pharaoh, the whole land of that country was blessed and Egypt became a mighty power. But the increasing numbers of the Jews filled the Pharaoh, of later times, and the Egyptians with fear and they subjected the Israelites to slavery and hard conditions.
When Aaron and Moses approached the then Pharaoh to let the people go, the easiest thing for him would have been to agree. But God decided to punish them for all the sufferings of His people and hardened the heart of Pharaoh repeatedly. The whole nation of Egypt suffered great loss of all crops, vegetation, animals and live-stock and finally destruction of a large part of their army at the Red Sea.
God has each given an individual the capacity to analyse whatever he sees or hears. Whatever he thus learns, a part is stored deep in his conscience and defines his way of life, the ‘Sanskar’. Some are in the frontal part of the brain and help him to live a certain way. The daily visits of God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden were to equip them to manage things (Genesis 3:8). But God has also blessed each of us with free-will to choose the way we want to go. Eve decided to follow the advice of the devil through the serpent and disobeyed God. The daily knowledge we receive through reading, hearing and experiences shapes our behaviour towards others. When we process this knowledge, in light of what we know already, it becomes wisdom.
Everyone knows that there is a God and they see their own representation of God as per their perception and worship him in the hope of eternal life. Many people hear about salvation through faith in Lord Jesus but few turn to Him as their Saviour. God has given the same capability to everyone but he has stored up in his mind wisdom that turns him to follow the Lord or reject Him. God did not differentiate but we decided to follow a certain path by denying proper education to many on the basis of their birth, financial or social status. Accordingly, they learn and behave. It is believed that the first five years of a child’s life help him in forming his personality while the later years just polish and refine that.
What we do or speak as a parent is registered in our children and they behave accordingly. We are blessed to have the Scripture readily available to us in the language we understand. Mary’s song of worship ‘the Magnificat’ is an expression of her deep understanding of the Word. We must encourage all members of our family to read the Scripture together and have open discussion to understand the deeper truths of the Word. We can thus grow in understanding and wisdom and live in that Light.
Receiving and growing in knowledge and wisdom – Apostle Paul, a really gifted scholar of Scripture has revealed the source of all knowledge and wisdom; The Holy Spirit. God blesses every believer with certain specific gifts essential for the assigned task of his life but the source of all ‘is the same Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:4-8). It is not based on human knowledge or intellect or capacity to arrive at right decisions but on Divine source. Then we learn that God gives to some ‘the words of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit’. Wisdom is the ability to understand and apply spiritual truths in real life situations. Knowledge involves a supernatural revelation of facts and truths not discerned by natural means. Knowledge adds to wisdom the facts that result in proper understanding and right decision making. The purpose of these gifts is ‘for the profit of all’ members of God’s family on earth and their growth. It is not about personal glorification but edification of the whole Body of Christ. Some like Apostle Paul are filled with all the gifts of the Holy Spirit due to his specific mission of teaching and establishment of the Church
Lord Jesus defined the role of the Holy Spirit, apart from convicting of sin, ‘He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you’ (John 14:26). What He teaches gets imprinted on the mind and heart. Hebrews 10:16 confirms further what was prophesied earlier by Prophet Jeremiah. The prophet declared a message of hope of the New Covenant from the LORD God, ‘I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts’ (Jeremiah 31:33). The New Birth in Lord Jesus is about fulfilment of this Covenant and the indwelling Holy Spirit does this by revealing the mysteries of the Word and helping in understanding.
The command to ‘love the Lord your God’ with all your heart, soul, mind and with all your strength is about submitting our whole being to Him, for His kingdom work (Mark 12:30). The Holy Spirit helps us understand about the gift already in us and guides its usage for specific works assigned. Saint James, head of the first Church in Jerusalem has provided the right way to acquire wisdom. He has taught, ‘If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him’ (James 1:4-5). First, is to realise the lack and need of wisdom; second, is to ask God. The third, is ‘ask in faith, with no doubting’ and finally, use that for the glory of God and for blessing the saints of God.
We submit to God with all our being, ask Him for wisdom for the work assigned and then live with the realisation that He has blessed us. With the wisdom from God, the gift of discernment is also given to identify the truth from the lies disguised as truth. We must remember that the ‘depth of the riches and wisdom of God’ is beyond full understanding of anyone (Romans 11:33). This does not mean that we give up, as we study the Word of God and other books and commentaries, we keep getting filled up with this knowledge.
The Jewish Council, the Sanhedrin, had seventy members and the High Priest as its head. All these were supposed to be chosen on the basis of their knowledge of Scripture, social and financial status. It was expected that each of them would have a different understanding of the same verse of the Holy Bible as per his wisdom and experiences of life. When Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin, came at night to meet Lord Jesus, he was taught about being ‘born again’. On his failure to understand the spiritual depth of the teaching, Lord Jesus chided him, ‘Are you a teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?’ (John 3:10). When we study the Word of God, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, we receive the underlying wisdom in relation to our life experiences. The inherent wisdom does not change for it is ‘pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere’ (James 3:17).
When we ask in faith, surrendering ourselves for use for God’s kingdom and blessing for others, He gives us freely. The more we reach out to others and share, the greater is the outpouring. We can acquire earthly knowledge and wisdom from earthly sources but as children of God our focus must be to receive godly wisdom from above.
Lack of wisdom in a believer – In every individual there are three kingdoms trying to rule and control him; his spirit, soul and body. Apostle Paul has confirmed this clearly, ‘Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ’ (1 Thessalonians 5:23). The first two relate to the immaterial and the body to the earthly, being formed from it. Each have their own needs in a normal human being. Man was formed from the dust of the earth and has a physical body structure having five senses to perceive and relate to the physical world. The body wants to satisfy these five senses in every way.
The soul is the centre of all feelings and emotions and is affected by both the body as well as the spirit. It perceives the psychological realms through our minds, emotions and wills and helps us to make decisions. Once the body assumes control of an individual, all its longings turn to fulfil the demands of the body. Every individual is affected by this and a strong effort has to be initiated to break this hold. The spirit is the immaterial part of a person that connects and communicates with God, who is a Spirit (John 4:24). The spirit desires to connect to spiritual aspects of life and if the right direction is not available, it will let the body and soul to follow the lies and deceptions of evil. Humans are the only ones on the earth with a spirit, to understand matters of God and connect with Him. Our bodies, souls and spirits form the final compact package that we are as individuals.
Our Lord became Man so that those who believe and receive Him can ‘have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10). Now in the Living Word ‘was life, and the life was the light of men’ (John 1:4). Lord Jesus was and is the source of all life and we live ‘abundantly’ with His presence in us. A believer does not change completely, immediately after his baptism but the indwelling Holy Spirit continues this process of change throughout our lives. This fulfils God’s promise, ‘I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you’ (Ezekiel 36:26). As a result, a process of change starts deep within us to finally make us presentable without blemish before God in heaven (Ephesians 5:27).
Adam was given ‘dominion’ over everything not to exalt himself over all of creation as kings often do but was created to ‘fill the earth and subdue it’ and this was by glorifying God before all of creation (Genesis 1:28). God did not close His eyes over His creation after disobedience of mankind but is actively involved in and controls every event. Lord Jesus confirmed this by saying ‘the kingdom of God is within you’ and He is the King of that (Luke 17:21). With the Holy Spirit in us this kingdom is fully active in us and we need to align our spirits, souls and bodies with His ways. Saint James has taught, ‘body without the spirit is dead’ (James 2:26) and a believer who is not fully submitted to God has his spirit also non-active within him and not submitted to the Holy Spirit also. Such a person keeps on stumbling around without any understanding of the truth of God. His body controls his soul and he lives as per the ways of the world, ‘whose minds the god of this age has blinded’ (2 Corinthians 4:4).
God desires to rule over every aspect of our lives and not some things, while we retain our own control or cede it to some other force. As long as Apostle Peter retained his focus on Lord Jesus, he could do the impossible and walk on water, during the storm (Matthew 14:29-30). The moment he turned his attention on the conditions around him, he drowned, but was rescued by the Lord. As we are supposed to do, let us dedicate our whole being, mind, heart, soul, body, spirit and all He has given for His service and glory. Then we can look forward to being filled with wisdom and knowledge to live according to His will and be victorious in Him.
To receive the fullness of knowledge and wisdom from God is not like a vaccination and one is safe for a certain period of time. It is a continuous process through study of God’s Word, the source of all wisdom, meditating upon it and receiving enlightenment through worship and prayer. It is about trying to understand His will and ways and then live accordingly every moment of our lives. Then through such submission, His indwelling Holy Spirit in us actively helps us by ‘teaching all things and reminding us of the Words of Lord Jesus’. Then all our decisions start turning out to be right and we live purposefully!
