No matter what our circumstances we always need wisdom. Perhaps that is particularly true of our present circumstances. I felt moved by the Lord to do a word study on wisdom and what follows is the result of that. You'll find a lot of these truths in the first 8 chapters of the book of Proverbs and then I finish with some quotes from the letter of James.

God’s Word is our source for wisdom and for revelation and the instruction we need to receive from Him. It is through His words that we are given insight into His ways and so into His will for us. Then our actions can express the truth we have received from Him, the wisdom we have been given, so that we do what is right, just and fair in His eyes.

This knowledge we can pass on to others by example as well as by our words. Then, others can see the wisdom from God being expressed in our lives. So the wise first listen attentively to what God says in His word and then seek to obey whatever He tells them to do. When this is their intent they are given understanding of the truth. Such truths that before they could not fathom and were formerly hidden from them.

To live in awe of God is to live in awe of His Word; in profound respect for these eternal truths. Such awe is the beginning of knowledge and understanding, whereas the foolish do not desire God’s wisdom and instruction. So the wise learn to depend upon God’s grace to resist any enticement of the flesh that is opposed to the life of His Spirit. They want to walk in wisdom not in foolishness. They refuse to walk in ways that would grieve the Lord. They know it is far better to please Him and so be filled with His peace and joy. The alternative is foolishness and a sense of failure and shame. By His mercy, all such foolishness is readily forgiven by the Lord. But it is better to please Him rather than to grieve Him!

There is no shame in wisdom. The wisdom of His words gives light to all who receive what the Lord says. They are able to walk in the light as the children of light. So God’s desire for all His children is to embrace His wisdom and to shun sin in all its forms. The wise have repented of their former wayward lives when they were more concerned with pleasing themselves than with pleasing God. Having repented, they then desire to live according to the truth He reveals to them through the Word and by the Holy Spirit. 

In feeding on His words day by day they feed on His thoughts. They are given insight into His perception of their circumstances - the circumstances in which they are placed. All suffer the consequences of their actions, whether they be wise or foolish. For in God’s Word, all sin is foolishness in His eyes. However, in His redeeming love He saves the repentant from the consequent they deserve. He even treats them as if those foolish things had not taken place - so complete is His mercy and forgiveness! He puts all grievance aside and then enables us by His Spirit to live to please Him. 

In wisdom those who seek to be faithful to the Lord believe His words and store up His commands in their hearts so that they can readily understand in what ways they need to act to please Him as circumstances arise. They actually want obedience to His commands to direct the course of their lives. They recognise that it is through His commands that the Lord seeks their highest good. In doing so they receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit who enables obedience to His words. So this obedience is not a work of their own best efforts but of the presence of Jesus Christ within them; His obedience working in and through them. 

When they read the Word of God they see themselves sitting at the feet of Jesus - being taught personally by Him. They recognise that every word that He speaks is a word of wisdom, of truths spoken in love for His children. They know that whatever comes from His mouth gives true knowledge and understanding that is far greater than any human wisdom and understanding. 

To walk in righteousness with Jesus is to walk in Godly success. The truth is like a protective shield that keeps them from deception and foolishness. For the Lord guards the ways of the righteous and protects His faithful ones.

To walk in righteousness is to walk in God’s love, in His wisdom, in the truth of His Word. It is to walk by faith and to trust in Him so that they prosper and bear fruit for His glory.  Whatever God speaks to your heart is wisdom and He has placed the Spirit of Wisdom within your heart. This is what enables you to recognise His voice and to reject whatever does not reflect the truth.

Truth and wisdom are one. There is no distinction between them. Just as the truth enables you to walk in freedom according to Jesus so wisdom is pleasant to the soul - it blesses your natural life. Wisdom encourages you to submit your soul life to the spirit so that the spirit can impact you and be expressed in your soul life; the way you think, and feel and the decisions you make. So God’s wisdom gives you the direction that protects you and the understanding of His will that guides you. 

Wisdom saves you from whatever is perverse; whatever is at odds with God’s will and ways. It keeps you from straying from the way the Lord sets before you. Wisdom causes you to rejoice in what is right in His eyes. 

Wisdom encourages you to live in the good of the covenant He has established with you. According to the terms of this covenant, Jesus is always faithful in fulfilling the promises He has given to His children.

The way of wisdom is good as well as righteous. Because He keeps you in the truth, wisdom persuades you to remain blameless before Him because you avail yourself of His mercy and forgiveness whenever there is need for this. You live daily in the victory of His blood!

The Spirit of wisdom is the Spirit of truth. He keeps reminding you of what Jesus has said and done. He promotes obedience to the commands that prolong your life and bring you peace and prosperity. 

His love and His faithfulness never leave you. They are written on your heart as a child of the new covenant. So you have a heart of wisdom, of truth, of love and of faithfulness. This is the nature of the new heart God has given you. As a result, you live daily in His favour and you can bear witness effectively to others as to what it means to have the privilege of being able to live as a child of God.

Clearly the wisdom of God’s Spirit is far greater than the natural wisdom of your own soul. His wisdom even brings health to your body and nourishment to your bones. So you are blessed in spirit, soul and body by His wisdom.

As God has been so generous and gracious to you, so wisdom encourages you to give generously both to the Lord and to others. You bless Him with the tithe of first fruits that belongs to Him but you desire to give over and above this as your heart is moved by His wisdom and love. You know that you will never be the loser. That the more you give the more God will give back to you His good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over. You can never outdo the Lord in giving or in generosity!

The wise do not despise the Lord’s discipline. They welcome His correction whenever it is needed. Both His discipline and correction are signs of God’s love for you. They show you that He delights in you as your Father. All such disciple and correction are further examples of the wise way in which He treats you for your own good.

The Lord’s wisdom is far more valuable than silver or gold. And nothing can compare with the beauty of His wisdom that far exceeds any natural beauty. Natural beauty fades but the beauty of God’s wisdom never fades - it is eternal.

God honours those who honour Him by holding fast to His words of wisdom. To walk in wisdom is to walk on pleasant paths at peace with Him. The Lord’s wisdom is a tree of life to those who take hold of her. A tree of life that will bring great blessing into your life.

Everything God does is authored by His wisdom and understanding. He never does anything that lacks wisdom. So He encourages you now never to let wisdom out of your sight for this enables you to preserve sound judgement and discretion. Unlike foolishness, wisdom holds no regrets. You will never regret speaking and acting with God’s wisdom.

You do not stumble on the way of wisdom, of holiness and blamelessness before the Lord. He keeps you in His wisdom even in your sleep; deep and sweet sleep that refreshes your soul as well as your body. 

You have nothing to fear for God’s wisdom promotes faith and trust in Him at all times and in all circumstances. Fear is the enemy of faith so His wisdom keeps you walking in freedom - free from anything negative that wants to influence you.

The Lord never wants to withhold anything from you - He desires to lavish His grace on you. This is wisdom. For then His life can be expressed through your life. When this is the case you bless the Lord and so are blessed yourself. You reap what you have sown. He gives to you so abundantly that you never need to be envious of anyone. In like manner, God does not want you to withhold from others what you are able to give to them. The more generous you are the better!

Wisdom gives you clarity of vision so you can see clearly the way that God sets before you. He takes the wise into His confidence and speaks clearly to you so that you receive all the revelation you need for the outworking of His will in your life.

It is God’s purpose to bless your house. This is to be a place of health, of love, of peace and joy. A place of unity and fellowship with the Lord and with one another. A place where you humbly submit yourself to Him so that His wisdom prevails and He is honoured. He wants nothing that would shame you to take place in your house.

So in His word the Lord encourages you to pay attention to all He says and to gain understanding. He wants you to lay hold of His words with all your heart. To obey His commands and prosper as a result. To continue to walk in His wisdom and understanding. 

It is never wise to forsake wisdom. Let me repeat that: It is never wise to forsake wisdom. The Lord raises up those who hold fast to His words of truth and wisdom but He pulls down the proud who have forsaken His wisdom. He even says that you are crowned with His glory when you walk in His wisdom.

The way of wisdom is a straight path for you - do not deviate from the truth of His words. In doing so nothing can hinder you as you progress in His way. The wise have placed their lives under His words. They keep their focus on His words of truth and wisdom because they are health to their whole body. Yes, your entire body is blessed because you hold fast to the truth of His words. 

Your heart is a wellspring of life and so of great blessing. So put away perversity from your mouth and keep corrupt talk from your lips. This is anything that opposes the truth of His Word. Fix your gaze directly before you and make level paths for your feet because you walk in His wisdom. Do not swerve from the way He sets before you. This is the way of holiness, the way of truth, the way of wisdom, and the way of life. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life! Walking on this way enables you to express the fullness of His life within you.

It is always wise to pay attention to what the Lord says; to believe His words and to act upon them. For every word He speaks is spoken with wisdom. When you speak in agreement with Him and when you act in agreement with Him you are being wise!

You will always find the way of wisdom to be fully satisfying. Wisdom is your guide for a righteous and holy life that denies temptation. His commands are a lamp for your feet, a light for your path. They become a way of life that reflects His life. For every word He speaks reveals something of who He is and the nature and quality of His life.

To the discerning who trust in Him, every word He speaks is full of His supernatural activity through the life and power of His Spirit. So, wisdom, prudence, knowledge and discretion together with His counsel, sound judgement, understanding and power all belong together. What a powerful combination! By contrast the foolish are full of pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech. They have chosen love of self above love for the Lord and His ways.

The Lord says that He loves who love Him and so love His words. Yes those who love Him, love His words. You can’t separate Him from His words! Those who seek the Lord seek wisdom. They find true riches and honour, enduring wealth and prosperity when they live in God’s wisdom and they go on to. They produce the fruit that glorifies the Lord. They walk in the way of righteousness along paths of justice. They give generously of themselves and their possessions and so receive God’s abundance in return.

The Lord has always been wise. In wisdom He created first the heavens and then the earth. All that He created was good. He did not bring into being anything that was not good. His wisdom produced all that is good. 

Where there is wisdom there is joy and full satisfaction in Jesus! There is great blessing for whoever finds wisdom, finds God’s life and receives favour from Him. What great contrast between wisdom and the foolishness of the flesh, the world and the enemy of wisdom. Yes those who love Jesus love His wisdom and those who love wisdom choose to live in that wisdom. So they enjoy all the blessings that His wisdom brings. 

Finally, in the epistle of James we read: “If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given you. But when you ask you must believe and not doubt.” (James 1:5-6)

James later asks: “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in humility that come from wisdom. But if you harbour bitter envy and selfish ambitions in your heart do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such so called wisdom does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For when you have envy and selfish ambition then you find disorder and every evil practice.” (James 3:13-16)

Then James defines true wisdom in this way: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure, then peace loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.” (James 3:17)

So you can see what great blessing there is when you walk in the wisdom that God gives you by the power of His Spirit and through the words that He has spoken - the eternal word of God.