wisdom comes slowly

God has promised wisdom for those who ask him and do not doubt his goodness. But we have to wait. We can get in the way of the wisdom God wants to give us in answer to our prayer about a particular matter or trial and then miss it altogether. Wisdom comes in its own time. And wisdom comes slowly.

Of course in a certain sense wisdom takes a lifetime. Our lives in a sense are a kind of testing, though God's testing of his people is to bring them along to full maturity as again we see in James. It is more like a growth toward maturity or analogous to advancing from one grade level to another. It is interesting that even Jesus grew in wisdom, though we should expect that since he became fully human.

It takes all of Scripture and all of life to gain the wisdom God wants and has for us. We want to shun the part that is unpleasant and not deal with it. And that ends up to our loss. Ecclesiastes imparts a certain kind of wisdom that Proverbs does not, and vice versa.

Wisdom comes slowly and I don't like that. Sometimes I'm restless and want wisdom now in regard to a particular situation. God will give it, but I must wait and receive it from him. Through prayer, and maybe through a passage in Scripture, or a friend or other person. I must keep my hands and heart open so to speak, knowing I need it and don't have it on my own. Ready to receive whatever God might be wanting to give me. And I can be a slow learner, and more like a no learner indeed.

There is certainly more to be said on gaining wisdom from Scripture.

What has God shown you about gaining wisdom? If we grow, or increase in wisdom over time, what does that say about where we are at now? Does that mean we shouldn't act with what wisdom we now have?

enjoying the journey

There is no doubt that all human beings go through troubles in this life, some quite severe. Add to that for us in Jesus the trials that go with seeking to be a true follower of Jesus in this life. There's little escape from all of that, and we don't do well unless we're willing to walk through them with God who has promised to be with us in Jesus as our Help always and to the end.

But thankfully there is much to enjoy in the journey of life. In this part of the world autumn is beginning to set in, and with that we will see the change of colors of the leaves, and hopefully some good Indian summer days to come. We enjoy the companionship of our spouses or close friends, as well. I think we especially enjoy all of this, when we realize that it is a gift, and not to be taken for granted. We often don't know what we have until we have to do without it. But we need to appreciate these gifts while we have them, and not only with longing reflection for them, when they are no more.

So hopefully by God's grace we can see the good from him all around us, and with each other. And we can enjoy this well, in a way that is pleasing to God and to us. I love the prospect of another warm day, knowing that Winter will all too soon be on us. But even then I want to find the good, God's beauty and provision in this wonderful world he has made, and in the good gifts he continually gives us, big and little, and nearly everywhere we turn, even in this world.

What would you like to add here?

God is in control

What God's sovereignty means is debated among Christian theologians and Bible students. I don't care to get into that debate here.

Sometimes in our lives, it seems life is out of control. Friends with cancer, the uncertainty of the economy and work, losing something you can't find, struggling with wrong attitudes or sin, and much more.

That God is in control means we can entrust ourselves and others into God's loving, powerful yet gentle, and wise hands. And we can be assured that God is at work in everything. Even when it seems all is lost or out of control.

At the same time in this working of God we have our part. God takes us up as humans into that working, through Jesus and by the Spirit. He wants us to find our rest in him, and from that proceed with him in his working in the world. And he wants us to do that together with others in Jesus.

I know I'm not in control. And that apart from grace I am out of control myself. But in Jesus we can find God's good will actively at work in our lives. I saw it in a little corrective way this morning, and it led to this post.

Anyone have anything they'd like to add on this?

God's goodness

God is good. We have that to rest on from Scripture and in Christ.

That truth and all attending truths, one getting probably even more at the heart of everything: God is love, these truths should help us through difficult days. Sometimes we have to live in the midst of troubles without and fears within. True of me for the past several days, actually.

But God is good. We can see it in Providence, that is in God's blessings in our lives. The sunshine-filled blue skies with the green Spring-ing to life trees. What beauty! The warmth in the air, the birds singing.

Strength for another day. The desire to know God and his will in Jesus. To follow Jesus. To love God and love our neighbor. All gifts out of the goodness of our Creator.

I want to learn well during the hard times. They exist for a reason, and like all else can be used by God in our lives for our good. And I thank God for all his goodness to me, to my brothers and sisters in Jesus, to all people, and to the world.

"Your kingdom come, Father. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven."

What signs do you see of God's goodness in your life? What helps you through the difficult days?

God's goodness

We need to look for ways in which we see God's goodness around us. In ways that may seem little, but in ways that add up to something really big.

Of course this is grounded in a faith which looks to God and to God's promises found in Scripture and through Jesus. As we look in that direction we learn to see life differently, with a new perspective more and more. And we also can begin to see the mountains we would speak into the sea begin to move.

I am also reminded of Romans 8:28. Because of the way this can be misapplied, we can end up ignoring it altogether, a grave mistake. We need to see how God can work for good even in the bad that we experience in life. At least be open to that possibility, because we certainly can't see much of the time the good out of the trouble or evil we may be or may have experienced.

The goodness we see from God in our lives and in the world we live in should spur us to more faith and prayers and deeds and words of love, so that we can see God's goodness carried out to finish what needs to be done. God's work in Jesus in this world through us is a work of God's goodness. We need to look at problems in that way, how God will be at work in them for good. We must not underestimate God's greatness and goodness at work in this world. Something I need to apply to many issues big and small I see most every day.

How do you look at God's goodness? What would you like to add to this?

trials

Yesterday was as good for me, as the day before was bad. Good to have those days of laying down in green pastures and being led by still waters, in having our souls restored and refreshed by the Shepherd of our souls.

I was wondering why all "hell" so to speak had broken loose the day before. I was trying to understand before God just where I had went wrong, why God's disciplining hand was evidently at work in my life. 

There is mystery we can't unravel in our troubles. Just living in a fallen world, and seeking to truly follow God in this world brings all the troubles one might imagine. Of course we are told to accept all hardship as discipline from our Father's loving hand for our good.

I think it's key to learn to embrace the good and the bad. All God sends or allows to come our way. I don't mean we're to accept the flaming arrows of the evil one. Not at all. We have the shield of faith to fend those off, etc. But we have to arm ourselves to suffer in our bodies for our faith, just as Christ did, Peter tells us. And we have to remember that troubles beset us for a number of reasons. Just a cursory, quick glance at Job and others in Scripture makes that perfectly evident. But that God is doing his great, mysterious work in it all. Not Satan, or our own doings to our undoing. God is great and good and sovereign in it all.

And we must remember, to whom God entrusts much God gives much. But for us to be like Christ in this world will involve suffering. Some of the "richest" saints/Christians I know are those who have suffered and are suffering the most. So that in the end, along with the apostle Paul we can say that we worked hard, but not us, but the grace of God with us.

What would you like to add to these scattered thoughts on trials?

God's goodness

A big part of the life of faith consists in really learning to trust in God's goodness. We affirm what Scripture says, that God is good. Yet we struggle when bad things happen to us and around us. And we struggle with fears over what might happen, since we live in a world which is full of trouble. And there's no doubt that we will have troubles in this life.

To learn to begin to really rest in God's goodness is an important aspect of the life of faith for us in Jesus. As we persist in that, through the bad times and good, we will begin to see God's goodness at work in our lives, in a kind of unfolding way. In a way in which we can see progress in ourselves. And seeing change towards becoming holy and more like the Lord, is at the same time satisfying to us. We are becoming more as our Creator made us to be, more human. By grace we are tasting more and more that the Lord is good, and we are remaining in that goodness.

I am learning this in my own life. Certainly requires faith, and sometimes prayers from others to help us overcome our lack of faith, as well as dependence on God to keep going on in that. True for myself!

When we depart, of course the Lord is faithful to work to bring us to our senses. We all need to keep learning more and more to trust in God's goodness. To learn more and more to rest in that. And to even revel in it. Seeing it in the little things of life, as well as the bigger. And trusting through the dark and difficult times that God's goodness will prevail.

Anything you'd like to share on God's goodness?