Oh to go back in time. What if we had the DMC DeLorean Dr. Emmett Brown and Marty McFly used to travel through time in Back to the Future? We could go back and see all the places we left wisdom laying, the places we could have learned valuable lessons, but, for one reason or another, we chose to leave wisdom in the moment. It’d be like going on a trip and, as you are apparently supposed to always do, bring them back a small souvenir. Wisdom is our souvenir from life’s experiences, whether good or bad.
The good news is, we can! Well, not DeLorean style, but in a different way. Every experience we’ve had in life is a place we can go back and gather wisdom from those times. Think of it as gathering valuable riches you left scattered throughout your life. You’d do that for gold, wouldn’t you? If you knew there was precious jewels left somewhere in a field you owned, you’d be leaving as soon as you finished reading this line to hit the trail to dig them up.
That’s what wisdom is. It’s more valuable than precious jewels and it is right in front of you, every moment of every day. Seek it more than you seek wealth, for those who attain wealth without wisdom are soon back into poverty.
Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with some legendary lawmen and American heroes. The one common thread I discovered through talking with all of them was wisdom. No matter their ages, they all looked over the course of their lives and pulled from their life experiences. It is the fool who places no value on wisdom and does not seek her like a precious jewel. These men and women are wise. Their success in life was no accident, it was a result of consistent pursuit of wisdom, hard work, and proper priorities.
Will you accept the words of wisdom and store them in your heart? Or will you throw them aside and forge ahead in your own might, with your own knowledge, lacking the total package? If that’s you, maybe it’s time to hop in that DMC DeLorean and go find fear of the Lord, for that, my friends, is the beginning of all wisdom.
Time is one thing we will never capture or regain, but we can make the most out of it by gathering and using wisdom. Let her be your guide today, tomorrow, and always. Let wisdom be the thing you ask for, that precious jewel you seek. Here are a few things wisdom has taught me:
- Instead of praying for money, pray for God-ordained opportunities.
- Never ask for patience.
- Begin your day by surrendering everything you have to God.
- Be intentional with every decision.
- Be quick to forgive.
- Tell people how much you appreciate them, and be more willing to love than hate.
- Be bold in your faith.
- Generosity isn’t learned when you have abundance, it is learned in the lean times.
- Never undervalue the power of prayer.
- Seek a relationship with God over religious rituals. They often leave you lacking, but He never will.
If you’ve made mistakes, like I have, like all of us have, stop allowing the voice of the enemy (Satan) to become the influencing voice. He will come into our lives and tell us how much God never meant what He said about (pick a sin) and the moment we decide to act on it, he becomes the one telling us how bad of a person we are.
If we listen to him, the enemy will tell us how horrible of a Christian we are because of our past. The Father is the redeemer of all humanity, if we choose to accept His gift of salvation. He also can redeem the years, and those years can be redeemed through wisdom. And, if we’re wise, we will accept His gift, and pursue a relationship with Him, and this is when the years become a gift for tomorrow, and today, no matter how terrible or how good they may have been.
Remember this, life is not always a battle. It may just be a test. And the test requires a passing grade before you can move on. Use the wisdom available to address today’s tests.
1 My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
-Proverbs 2:1-4 NIV
