February 9: Insight Post by Kim Feld
Monday Insight Post
by Kim Feld
This week’s prayer focus is asking for wisdom. This is a prayer I pray on repeat. I know I need God’s wisdom to make wise, thoughtful decisions for my life and ministry. For me, asking for wisdom includes a point that Rusty brought out in yesterday’s message: I have to ask God to show me any logs in my eyes. These logs can definitely make me judgmental, but they also impair my judgment by preventing me from fully seeing myself. Wisdom requires me to evaluate my motives.
I have often used a portion of the Serenity Prayer when asking for wisdom. It begins with these lines:
God, grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change
the courage to change the things I can
and the wisdom to know the difference.
It requires wisdom to know the difference between what is within my power to change and what isn’t. I have wasted so much time over the years trying to change situations and people beyond my control. Wisdom is crucial for discernment.
One of our verses this week comes from the book of James, which is one of my favorite books in the Bible. I love it because it is practical and applicable. James chapter 3 combines a discourse on taming our tongues with a passage on wisdom. Let’s take a look:
13 If you are wise and understand God’s ways, prove it by living an honorable life, doing good works with the humility that comes from wisdom. 14 But if you are bitterly jealous and there is selfish ambition in your heart, don’t cover up the truth with boasting and lying. 15 For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, unspiritual, and demonic. 16 For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.
17 But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere. 18 And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of righteousness. James 3:13-18 (NLT)
James highlights the aspects of wisdom that only God can provide. This wisdom is far more than making good decisions. The wisdom that God gives is humble, pure, peace loving, always gentle, and willing to yield to others, merciful, impartial, and sincere. This wisdom looks like Jesus.
Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach
New Hope Church
Lorton, Virginia
www.newhope.org