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 little ebook is just 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. Actually, did you know that Proverbs has 31 chapters?
When I was a teenager, my dad (who was also a pastor) challenged me to read a chapter a day, and I maintained this habit for years. It’s an incredible book in the Bible because it’s jam-packed with practical advice. I’d really encourage you to try this because it benefitted me so much!
Let’s start with Proverbs 1:1-7, which sums up this book’s purpose:
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 naïve, 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. (NASB)
As you read this, 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. You see, there are three steps involved in developing and walking in incredible wisdom: knowledge, understanding and wisdom. It all starts with knowledge.
Knowledge
Knowledge is simply facts and information.
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.
James 1:5 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.
Other 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 my next point: understanding.
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, someone else can’t spell out the application for you. There’s just no way that I can teach a point from the Bible and then cover every scenario possible on how to apply that principle for every person in every situation. You have to take the time to think about it yourself.
If you don’t take the time to think about how to apply knowledge (gain understanding), you will never be wise. Understanding requires meditation. Meditating on the facts 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!
Action
Understanding doesn’t become wisdom until you apply it.
Now, 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.
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.
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 begin to show you how to apply that knowledge. You’ll begin to understand how to bring change to your life, but don’t stop there. Even though change can be difficult, you can do it!
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. 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 to allow that understanding to shape your decisions, which means that you can take things to the next level in every area of your life!
That being said, there is one more thing to understand if you want to grow and move forward in life. Wisdom will take you far, but it’s only one of two power twins that are vital for success. You need wisdom, but you also need Holy Spirit.
