If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.  

James 1:5 

How shall we obtain the wisdom we need for our everyday dilemmas? Life presents us with a constant stream of knotty problems for which we often do not have a ready solution. We find ourselves casting about in our mind for what is the right answer and course of action when complex issues arise. Our text provides the first course of action. The kind of wisdom under discussion is what a particular situation requires. We seek wisdom in the broader sense, but this text refers to the kind of wisdom we need to meet a particular circumstance. We are aware that we face may situations for which we need far greater wisdom than we possess. Where will we gain it? James counsels, ‘Let him ask of God.’ If, as Colossians says, in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, then we go to Christ to give us the wisdom to solve the  knotty problems we encounter daily. He is the inexhaustible storehouse of wisdom. He will give us the wisdom we need when we ask Him and will not reproach us for asking.  

Our Gracious Master and our God, 
we rejoice that You that You have what we need. 
We praise You that when we ask You for it, 
You will not deny us. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD. 

Proverbs 8:35

 

To find wisdom is to find life. Our text makes this categorical statement. Where shall we find this life-giving wisdom? According to Colossians 1 all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ. Therefore if we find Christ, we find wisdom and thereby life. These pursuits are inseparable. The person who would have wisdom and the accompanying life will find them in Christ. Christ declared Himself as, ‘the way, the truth and the life.’ Therefore, if we are to gain all in one package Christ is that package. This is the favor of the Lord. To know Christ as Savior; to pursue the knowledge of Him daily; to understand more of Him; to begin, even in the smallest ways to see things from His perspective, is life. Christ said, ‘and this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.’ We have been speaking much of knowledge and wisdom lately. Every discussion has brought us again to Christ in whom are hid all the treasures of knowledge and wisdom. These things we so highly prize are bound together with Him.  

Our Gracious God and our Savior, 
we rejoice that You have revealed Yourself to us. 
We praise You that as we come to know You, 
we find wisdom and life. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 

Proverbs 8:34 

Seeking Christ is a lifelong pursuit. He is such a vast storehouse of wisdom and knowledge we can never exhaust the resources in Him. Certainly our minds and hearts can barely comprehend a tiny fraction of the wealth He contains. Our text holds out the promise of blessedness for everyone who listens to Him. The remainder of the text depicts the daily pursuit of the wisdom that is in Him. It  involves a daily watching and waiting. Wherever we look for Him in the Scripture He is there. From the gateway of Genesis to the doors of the Gospels we behold Christ again and again. When we come to the close of Scripture, we behold the revelation of Him. The more we find Him, the better off we are. The more we contemplate Him, the more He gives us wisdom and knowledge to imitate Him. As we pursue Him throughout life we grow to be like Him until we see him face to face. This is a blessed life indeed. It is a life with the greatest purpose and ends in the highest good. To pursue Christ brings us to wisdom that surpasses every philosophy and all other purported revelations. Christ is all and the highest good.  

Great God of Wonders, 
we rejoice that You speak wisdom to our souls. 
We praise You that, as we listen to You, 
we continue to grow more deeply.

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning

Now therefore, listen to me, my children, for blessed are those who keep my ways. 

Proverbs 8:32 

Christ’s words lead us to blessedness. Our text is a statement from the mouth of wisdom personified. It is striking how these words sound so much like Christ. In Luke He remarks ‘But He said, more than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!’ On the night before He went to the cross, He said to His disciples, ‘If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.’ By this He indicated that His word abiding in us would have a positive effect on our praying. These and other references like them lead us to the conclusion that Chris’s words and wisdom’s words are practically synonymous. To follow wisdom’s words is to follow Christ’s words and vice versa. This is utterly consistent with the idea from Colossians that in Christ are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Therefore we hear the voice of Christ from the ancient page. It is entirely appropriate for us to do so because ‘to Him give all the prophets witness.’ We are not imposing on the ancient literature anything that is not implicitly there. Where wisdom is, Christ is. It is always worthwhile to seek Christ.  

Our gracious Savior and our God, 
we rejoice that You have spoken to us from ancient days. 
We praise You that you are still speaking to us 
through Your word and by Your Spirit.  

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning