Wisdom In Action
5 But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6 But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8 being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
How long can the doubting boater stand there with a foot on the dock and a foot on the deck? If he doesn’t put his faith into one or the other, he’s getting a swimming lesson.
But before we even get on the dock, the question is: How do we know we lack wisdom? A manager can stare at spreadsheets all day, ending up with paralysis by analysis if he doesn’t know which questions to ask. Where can he find the right questions? One way is to develop a set of KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) to use in analyzing his spreadsheets.
Consider Galatians 5:16-25 We see a list of fleshly deeds as well as a list of the fruit of the spirit. Pick a deed, or a fruit. Let’s say we detect jealously in our life. This triggers the question: How can I conquer jealousy? “Just stop being jealous” is the simple answer but it’s not that easy. What right do I have to be jealous? Who am I jealous of? How is jealousy affecting my Christian Ambassadorship? These are all questions which begin our path to seeking wisdom.
In other words, we don’t have to be wise to realize we need wisdom because we have KPI’s which tell us where we need wisdom.
Father, thank You for giving us wisdom indicators. Thank You for freely giving us wisdom to guide our life decisions. Strengthen our faith and our trust in You as You increase our wisdom.