By David ReayWednesday 25 Mar 2020LifeWords DevotionalsDevotionsReading Time: 2 minutes
If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do. (NLT)
We live in an information-saturated age. We can discover much about everything but yet that doesn’t mean all that information grants us true knowledge. Some of that information may be false or irrelevant. Mere accumulation of information does not necessarily make us knowledgeable.
And mere accumulation of knowledge will not grant us wisdom. Knowledge is a true and balanced grasp of the facts. Wisdom is knowing what to do with those facts. Someone might share a problem with me which gives me information. Through discussion about the problem I gain more knowledge of it. But I need wisdom to know how to respond, how to apply that knowledge I have gained.
Wisdom is about discerning what to do with what we know. In biblical terms, it is to do with putting biblical principles into practice. God will give me this wisdom, but only if I am prepared to act on it. If I am not convinced his wise way is the best, then he will not give me wisdom. He wants some assurance I will follow it. In times of trial we should pray for wisdom, but with a conviction that when it comes we will embrace it.
Being knowledgeable can be a blessing, but being wise is the greater blessing. Knowledge may help you make a living. Wisdom helps you make a life.
Blessings
David