Introduction
Do you ever feel like something is holding you back in life? If there’s an area in your life you wish you could improve or you’d love to take to the next level, then this eBook is for you!
You see, we’re going to be talking about wisdom: how to build it and how it has the potential to change everything in your life.
The book of Proverbs is known for its practical wisdom, which makes it a great place to start when talking about this topic. Did you know that Proverbs has 31 chapters? That means you could read a chapter a day for a month, and by the end, you will have read all the wisdom that's jam-packed into the book of Proverbs!
The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: to know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naive, to the youth knowledge and discretion, a wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 1:1-7 (NASB)
As you read this eBook, one of the important things to understand is that the more you study and meditate on the wisdom the Bible has to offer, the more you benefit. In the next few chapters, we'll focus on three important steps to building incredible wisdom in your life.
Gain Knowledge
The first step to walking in wisdom is gaining knowledge. Knowledge is simply facts and information.
We live in a world today where information is abundantly available, although not all of it is true or helpful. We need to be discerning. Not only that, but we need to understand that there are many different kinds of knowledge out there. Someone might have absorbed a ton of knowledge and facts when it comes to their career, but that doesn’t mean that they’ve grown in the knowledge they need to make their marriage work or to build great friendships. There’s just so much to learn, which is why we will always need to make the effort to grow in knowledge for our entire lives.
Another important thing to note is that the Bible says if you ask God, He will give you wisdom. This sounds great because it seems as though we don’t have to do any work to become wise, but what many don’t realize is that wisdom develops out of knowledge and understanding. It’s a process.
But if any of you lack wisdom, you should pray to God, who will give it to you; because God gives generously and graciously to all.
James 1:5 (GNT)
When you continue reading James 1, it doesn’t say we can ask for knowledge and expect God to just hand it to us. Knowledge is something we have to discipline ourselves to gain. We would all love to be able to plug something into the back of our heads to download the knowledge we need. Wouldn’t that be great? Within seconds, you could know how to fly a plane or how to be an expert in martial arts. That may work in the movies, but it doesn’t work in real life.
We need to build knowledge through reading, learning from others and listening to great teaching. That’s why the book of Proverbs opens up by encouraging us to gain knowledge, increase in learning and go after wise counsel. We all have so much more to learn and develop, and it never stops. We need to be life-long learners!
But… we need to be discerning when it comes to where we get our knowledge. Many people today get all their information from social media or the major news networks. While these can be sources of knowledge, we have to be careful that we don’t rely on the wrong sources to feed us only what they think we need to know.
Some people don’t go after learning new things at all. Instead, they’re focused on playing video games or on watching countless hours of TV to keep their minds busy. It’s fine to enjoy video games, TV and movies as a form of recreation. However, anything taken to an extreme can be detrimental, plus it leaves you no time to pursue the kind of knowledge you need to create an amazing life.
We need to pursue knowledge to excel at our careers, our finances and every area of life. When it comes to our relationships, we need to pursue knowledge about our spouses, read books and seek out quality information about marriage, sexuality and how to raise kids. Great lives aren’t built by accident!
However, we can’t stop there. Knowledge is just the facts. We can gain a lot of knowledge, yet have no wisdom if we don’t know how to apply that knowledge, which brings me to our next step: understanding.
Grow in Understanding
Knowledge is useless unless you begin to gain understanding. You could hear the best sermon in the world or read the best book, but it will gain you nothing if you don’t apply that knowledge to your life.
The trouble is, no one can spell out the application for you. There’s just no way that someone could teach a point from the Bible and then cover every scenario possible to lay out how to apply that principle for every person in every situation. You have to take the time to think about it yourself.
If you listen to me, you will know what is right, just, and fair. You will know what you should do. You will become wise, and your knowledge will give you pleasure. Your insight and understanding will protect you.
Proverbs 2:9–11 (GNT)
If you don’t take the time to think about how to apply knowledge—in other words, gain understanding—you will never be wise. Understanding requires meditation. Meditating on the facts, the truth of God's Word, and thinking about how to apply them to your life gives you these “aha” moments when your new course of action becomes clear. The more you get these “aha” moments, the more it makes you want to go after more knowledge and understanding, because it brings hope for change!
Psalm 119:99 (AMPC) says, "I have better understanding and deeper insight than all my teachers, because Your testimonies are my meditation."
In today’s hectic world, we are often too busy to think. When we don’t take the time to think, we believe whatever the news or social media says instead of searching out the truth. We have an overload of information coming at us today, which is why it’s even more important that we develop the capacity to think and discern. Meditating on God’s Word gives us this capacity. We build the ability to gain insight—and not just into doctrine, but in every area of life.
We need to remember that Biblical meditation is not about emptying the mind. In Psalm 63:6 (NLT), David wrote, “I lie awake thinking of you, meditating on you through the night.” In this scripture, the word meditate comes from the Hebrew word hagah, which Thayer's Lexicon defines, “to moan, growl, utter, speak, muse, or meditate.”
Biblical meditation is becoming aware of God’s presence, thinking about His Word, imagining it, talking about it with others, repeating it out loud to yourself and filling your internal dialogue with it. That may seem overwhelming at first, but as you practice this skill of focusing your attention, Holy Spirit will help you to develop the capacity to decipher layers of understanding from God’s Word, even to the point where you’ll read a verse you’ve come across a hundred times before, and you’ll discover something brand new.
Now that we've covered the first two important steps, let's talk about how to take action and walk in real wisdom in your everyday life.
Take Action
Even if you understand a principle and how to apply it, you still have to do what it takes to walk out that new course of action. This is where wisdom comes in. Understanding doesn’t become wisdom until you apply it.
You never know how much knowledge or understanding someone has, but wisdom is obvious. You can tell when someone is wise because it shows in their choices and habits, and in the results they’re getting in their life. When you apply Biblical knowledge to your life, things begin to change!
These three words—knowledge, understanding and wisdom—are life-changing and so simple. Keep growing in your knowledge of the Word and in practical knowledge for every area of your life. Meditate (which just means think about it) to determine how you can apply this knowledge to your situation specifically. Ask Holy Spirit to help you with this, because His job is to reveal the Word to you. Come up with a plan of action. You may even want to write things down and come up with steps you can follow or goals you want to reach. Then take action!
Put the word into action. If you think hearing is what matters most, you are going to find you have been deceived.
James 1:22 (VOICE)
Wisdom requires action, every time. Wise people are not wise because of the contents of their brain. They become wise by their choices. You have everything you need within you to pursue Godly knowledge, meditate for understanding and allow that understanding to shape your decisions—which means that you can take things to the next level in every area of your life!
God is attracted to movement. That’s why He wants us to rise up, take the paths He’s prepared for us and make a difference for His Kingdom.
Many people are so fearful of what’s down the road that they stay in the same secure corner. They worry, “What if I step out of my comfort zone and fail?” Or, “What if I go for it and I’m worse off?” “What if there are giants around the bend?”
God won’t show you every fearful thing in your future. So, what do you do? You step out in faith and keep moving. You take out giants as they come. You walk in wisdom and make the most of opportunities as they come your way (Ephesians 5:15–16).
You won’t feel truly alive until you get up and start walking out what God has placed in your heart to do. He didn’t intend you to spend your days camping out in a safety zone. He designed you to walk with wisdom and live through Him!
Conclusion
Holy Spirit’s job is to teach you. This doesn’t mean that He gives you all the facts. You have to go after them yourself by studying the Word and educating yourself, but through meditation, He will show you how to apply that knowledge. You’ll begin to understand how to bring change to your life, but don’t stop there.
Have that difficult conversation with your spouse or your boss, if that’s what needs to happen. In relationships (especially marriage), you have three choices: be a tyrant, be a slave, or learn to negotiate. Learn to negotiate so it’s win-win! Go after knowledge about what your spouse needs, how they think and what makes them feel loved. Figure out what you need and want as well, and then work out how you can both get your needs met, trusting Holy Spirit to help you. Even though change can be difficult, you can do it!
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.
Colossians 1:9–10 (NKJV)
Don’t procrastinate change. Once you’ve gained the knowledge you need and you’ve determined how to apply it, make it happen. Holy Spirit will guide you as you begin to move in a new direction, so look for a sense of peace as you go and allow Him to lead you to some amazing things!
