Make Wisdom Your Priority (Part 2/3)

When you know Jesus as your wisdom, you will begin to see lasting and practical success over every challenge and crisis that comes your way. Join Joseph Prince in this three part series as he explains the importance of prioritizing the wisdom of God in your everyday life.

Pursue Wisdom, Not Riches And Honor

Many young people today, when they enter the workforce, set their hearts on pursuing money and recognition. They set short- and long-term goals and work frantically towards that first “C”—credit card, car or country club. They do whatever it takes to get that promotion or impressive-sounding title. Strife and anxiety become a way of life as they climb the social ladder. Unfortunately, such a stressful lifestyle usually takes a toll on their health. They use their health to get wealth, only to have to use their wealth to get health back later on in life!

When you embrace wisdom first, you’ll find her embracing you back—with longevity, riches and honor in her hands.

My friend, that’s not the path that God wants you to take in life. He’s not against you having riches, but He’s against riches having you. He’s not against you having honor, but He wants you to honor Him and His ways first. If He were against you having riches and honor, then He wouldn’t have said that riches and honor, and even longevity, come with wisdom: “Length of days is in her [wisdom’s] right hand, in her left hand riches and honor.” (Proverbs 3:16)

The key here is not to pursue what wisdom can give you, but to pursue wisdom herself. Young people, when you embrace wisdom, you’ll find her embracing you back, and guess what? In her right hand is longevity for you, and in her left hand, riches and honor.

So let me challenge you today to make wisdom your number one prayer request. Every day, put getting wisdom at the top of your to-do list. Pursue and embrace wisdom. You won’t lose out. In fact, you’ll win in life. You’ll accomplish more in a shorter time. You’ll see things others don’t and avoid pitfalls. You’ll overcome every challenge and come out on top.

Wisdom Above Quick Fixes

Many of us face the same challenges over and over again. For some it’s a health issue, for others, a financial or relationship issue. Every time the same problem crops up, we cry out to God for yet another miracle. In situations like this, I encourage you to pray, “God, give me wisdom to get out of this once and for all.” It is much better to have God’s wisdom to stay out of the same problem for good, than to be bailed out again and again and not experience lasting victory in this area.

With God’s wisdom, you stop walking around in circles in the desert and move into your promised land.

Like any good father, God wants you to walk in wisdom, make the right decisions and choose the right paths. That’s why He wants you to pursue His wisdom as the principal thing, above miracles or quick fixes. With God’s wisdom, you stop walking around in circles in the desert and move into your promised land. That chronic health condition finally ceases and you step into a greater measure of divine health. The same old money problems are resolved and bad spending habits are broken. Strife no longer has an open door to wreak havoc in your family.

Let me share with you a testimony of someone who found this to be true. Julie and her husband of three years had been struggling to raise his two teenage sons along with her two pre-adolescent children under the same roof. Daily parenting challenges escalated into serious marital problems when to make things worse, her husband’s new job required him to be away from home for weeks at a time. She shared:

“Both my husband and I didn’t know how to deal with our situations and make changes. But in the midst of all this, God used you, Pastor Prince, to open my eyes to the reality that I am God’s beloved…and to face each new challenge with an attitude of, ‘My Father will turn it around for my good.’

God has opened my husband’s and my eyes to the realities of our stepchildren’s past and given us wisdom to help them. Now, my relationship with my younger stepson has improved greatly. While my relationship with my older stepson is still challenging, there has been progress, and his eyes are being opened to the fact that his behaviors need addressing. My children are seeing up-close God’s wisdom through the way we now parent in difficult situations.

My heavenly Father has also opened a door of communication between my husband and me in an area that had always been difficult, and in the natural, seemingly insurmountable. We have reached a new and sweet level in our marriage and have grown in our trust of each other as never before.

Most importantly, I KNOW my Father loves me. He speaks to me and I trust Him to show me how to walk this life.”

What a beautiful testimony of the Lord’s love for His beloved, and of the effect of His wisdom! Beloved, you too can lean on His love, ask Him to speak to you and show you how to turn a long-term, difficult situation around.

Wisdom Is For The Humble

Whether it’s family life, work life or ministry, we need to acknowledge that we need wisdom. Most of us, unfortunately, believe we already have plenty of what it takes to handle the situations we face…and then fall flat on our faces. This is why wisdom is for the humble who depend on the Lord and ask of Him all the time. If you will acknowledge that you need God’s wisdom, His Word promises you that He will show you which paths to take and teach you to profit in all that you do. (Proverbs 3:6, NLT; Isaiah 48:17)

In the Old Testament, Solomon became Israel’s new king after his father, David, had passed on. Solomon was young, inexperienced and overwhelmed by this job of leading an entire nation of God’s chosen people.

That’s why, when God visited Solomon in a dream and asked him what he wanted, the young king didn’t ask for riches and fame, or the life of his enemies. Instead he humbly asked for an understanding heart to govern God’s people well: “Therefore give to Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?” (1 Kings 3:9)

God was pleased with Solomon’s request, and He gave Solomon a wise and understanding heart to discern good and evil and rule His people well. I believe that the same request that pleased God then also pleases Him today.

<< Read Make Wisdom Your Priority (Part 1/3)

>> Read Make Wisdom Your Priority (Part 3/3)

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