Living As Wise

 

“Therefore consider carefully how you live – not as unwise but as wise.”  Ephesians 5:15

 What does it mean to live not as unwise, but as wise? According to the devotional, “True wisdom is found in seeking God in every decision, both big and small, and trusting that He will faithfully lead us in the direction we need to go.” This seems to line up with what I read in scripture, so I agree with it. Therefore, the source of wisdom is God Himself. So how do we access this wisdom?

 In the Old Testament, they had various methods of determining God’s will and seeking His guidance. One of these was the Urim and Thummim, two gemstones carried by the High Priest of Israel on the ephod/priestly garment. The Bible says these were used to determine God’s will, but it doesn’t say how exactly. They also had a test to see if a woman had been unfaithful involving drinking water with the dried ink from a curse scraped into it. If she got sick she was guilty and if she didn’t she was innocent. Thankfully, Jesus gave us a new, more personal way of learning God’s will.

 When Jesus ascended into heaven, He did so partly so that He could send the Holy Spirit to be with us, to indwell us always. In this way, God is always with us and we can connect and converse with Him at any time. The more we do this, the more we learn to identify His voice. It’s like the olden days when people used to talk on the phone. You knew who it was without caller id because you heard their voice. I called my Grandma last week and it went to voice mail. The recording was done by my Grandfather who passed away two years ago next week. I didn’t need him to tell me what his name was, as soon as I heard that deep, calm, raspy voice I knew right away, and a tear welled up in my eye.

 In the same way we can come to know the Holy Spirit’s voice. For most people, this is not an audible experience, but more one of impression. You can feel the breeze on your face without the visual signals that it is windy, for example. It might be a warmth in your heart, or a check on your spirit. By acknowledging and obeying that voice, we train our minds to listen for it and hear it more succinctly. For me, this began by asking God simple questions. Should I buy this or this? Should I go do this? Then they became more complex, seeking out His wisdom and guidance on interactions, things I read about, etc.

Here's the Thing: God is not a magic 8 ball. You can’t ask a yes or no question, shake Him up, and expect, “Without a doubt.” That said, God tells us to seek wisdom and discernment, to ask Him for knowledge. I believe that when we do so, He will guide us. We just might not receive the answer we’re looking for and we need to be ok with that. We might ask Him if we should eat a burger or pasta, and He might tell us to have a salad!