Seeking God's Wisdom

Reuters, Arndt left behind a surgeon who was not qualified to complete the surgery. After his 35-minute trip to the bank, Arndt returned to the operating room and finished the surgery within a few hours.

The doctor’s license to practice medicine in Massachusetts has been suspended, but he will have a chance to appeal the decision. Arndt, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, was not available for comment on his suspension.

SOURCE: Preaching Now Vol. 1, No. 20, Tue 9/3/2002 7:41 AM.

We probably all know smart people who made bad choices. Company CEO’s, presidents, even pastors.

3) God is the source of all wisdom

How does a person gain wisdom so that we consistently make the right choices? The book of Proverbs in the Bible which is frequently known as the book of wisdom says this:

NIV Proverbs 2:6 For the LORD gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.

The Bible tells us God is the source of wisdom. God is the one who helps us make good choices every time. Which makes sense because God knows everything, he created everything, and he knows the future. God knows the result of every decision we will ever make before we even make it. Unfortunately we tend to rely on our own wisdom and understanding. We ask ourselves, ‘does this feel right to me,’ ‘will this make me happy,’ or ‘does it make sense to me,’ which may work for us for a while, but eventually if all we rely on is our own wisdom and understanding we’re going to steer ourselves in the wrong direction perhaps even make a disastrous choice because we made our decision on based on our own limited abilities rather than God’s. Using your own judgment alone will cause you at some point to fail morally, destroy a relationship with a friend or family member because of what you said or did, misuse money, something will happen.

Proverb 14:12 says, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” That means the decision you make or the path you choose to take may seem like the right one to you when in reality it leads to death, or a bad consequence.

NLT Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths. 7 Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn your back on evil. 8 Then you will gain renewed health and vitality.

Notice what it said, don’t depend on your own understanding, don’t be impressed with your own wisdom, rather seek God’s will and he will direct your path. God will point you in the right direction.

How often are we seeking God’s wisdom and his will? How often do we rely on our own limited understanding rather than relying on God? Do you know what is going to happen tomorrow? No, I don’t either, but God does. Do you know how your choices today are going to impact your future? No, but God does. Why wouldn’t we trust in God and seek his will.

4) We Must Seek God’s Wisdom
How do we gain God’s wisdom? How can we know what the right choice is to make in our life? As we have already discovered wisdom comes from God, therefore we need to seek him.

a) Crying out
NLT Proverbs 2:1 My child, listen to me and treasure my instructions. 2 Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding. 3 Cry [call] out for insight and understanding.”

Wisdom