Wisdom is something that each of us strives to obtain and use in our daily lives. From where does that wisdom come? Proverbs 8:9-10 tells us, “Instruct the wise, and he will be wiser still; teach the righteous, and he will learn more. ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.’” (CSB) The Amplified Version says, “Give instruction to a wise man and he will become even wiser; Teach a righteous man and he will increase his learning. The [reverent] fear of the Lord [that is, worshiping Him and regarding Him as truly awesome] is the beginning and the preeminent part of wisdom [its starting point and its essence], And the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding and spiritual insight.”
Our verse tells us that the “reverent fear” of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. It’s where wisdom starts. It comes from God, Himself! The more we study His Word, talk to Him in prayer and listen for His response, and follow His leading, the more wisdom we gain. In his commentary, John Gill states that when a man fears the Lord, that man begins to be wise. He says, “This is the principal part of wisdom. and is at the first of it; it is the beginning of grace; it is the first act of wisdom, or grace; or which appears as soon as a man is converted and caused to know wisdom in the hidden part; as repentance, faith, and love, quickly show themselves in one act or another, so does the fear of God.”
Godly wisdom begins when we surrender our hearts and lives to God. There is wisdom in allowing Him complete control of our lives. The Bible tells us that His ways are better than ours. (Isaiah 55:9) He knows the trajectory of our journey, the end from the beginning.
God uses different ways to help us gain wisdom. Sometimes God puts wise people in our pathway to help us increase in wisdom and knowledge of Him. Wisdom is also a part of being discerning in allowing someone to speak into your life. It is the wise person who seeks out counsel from someone who exhibits Godly choices and decisions in their lives. We also gain wisdom by applying what we learn from His Word to our lives. There are many examples in the Bible where God has given wisdom in a situation and the person used that wisdom for their gain.
Sometimes, God whispers to us using that Still, Small Voice that says, “Stop! Try it this way.” It is up to us to listen to and follow that Voice. When we feel that tug in our hearts when we are trying to make decisions, that tug is the Holy Spirit advising us, giving us wisdom that we need to heed. The more we listen to that prompting of the Holy Spirit, the more we grow in wisdom and instruction from God. We learn more, not only about God and His character, but we learn how to deal with life in ways that are wise and help us to gain knowledge of how to live this Christian life. When we apply what we learn, we give honor and glory to the One who grants us wisdom.
Our daily lives give us plenty of opportunities to use wisdom. Using wisdom in how and what I say is something that has always been a problem for me. I’m a reactionary type of person. Mostly, I react to situations instead of stopping and thinking calmly about how to respond to the circumstances happening at that time, but it’s a learning process. I need to go to the One who can instruct me on how to deal with these situations. I have made some progress, but I’m not where I would like to be, so I go back to His Word. I use wisdom to do this.
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