Praying God's Wisdom: Wrap Up ICYMI

   I have a couple of people in my life that ask me about the acronyms I use sometimes, so just to clarify, ICYMI stands for In Case You Missed It, which is exactly what today's post is about. Today I will look back on the last six weeks of studying God's wisdom, something I have been very much looking forward to. Sometimes these wrap up posts are a bit of a chore, but this time I have so enjoyed the study that I am excited about looking back on it and remembering all that God has spoken to my heart!

 The first week of our study we focused on God's wisdom for our relationships and family. Our first day focused on the importance of balancing truth and mercy, something we are not prone to doing on our own. Next, we looked at how the relationships in our lives keep us sharp and how important it is to surround ourselves with people who are not entirely like-minded. When we live in those relationships though, ones where we may not feel the same way about everything, it's so important to keep peace in mind and remember that a gentle answer turns away wrath. On Thursday that week I got to share with you one of my favorite hobbies and how it relates to both the Bible and relationships. And we wrapped that week up looking at the importance of forgiveness, both for our relationships and for our own health.

 In week 2 we shifted to learning about God's wisdom for our decisions and life direction. When faced with a choice, how do you decide which way to go? In our first day of study, I was reminded that God's perfect grace for us is that no matter what we choose, we can't mess it up! Yes, there will be consequences that follow, but God is so much bigger than us and His plan are so much higher than ours that no matter what we do, we can't screw up what He has going, and that brings me so much peace. So how do we know what to pick? The next day we looked at how we can trust God's directions for our lives so much more than Google Maps. On Wednesday, the scripture related to waiting on God and He drew my heart to revisit my age-old dilemma about healing. He walked me through how I am already healed, but not yet experiencing it physically. I am living in the already but not yet, as I am in so many other ways. Rolling into the next day, I looked back on research and science, how we think we have things worked out but so much is still a mystery to us. We wrapped up the week with the reminder that regularly, intentionally, spending time in God’s Word changes our hearts and minds.

 The third week of this study addressed anxiety, worry and our emotions. As I was reminded by a sticker that was literally just delivered to my front door, our emotional health is important. God made us and He knows very well how we were designed and what our needs are, and He cares about them, because He cares about us. We began by discussing the burdens we carry, and those that we are meant to lay down. I was reminded of The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan and blessed by some beautiful artwork I found. God's timing is amazing and He brought to me just the verses I needed when I needed them that week. Tuesday's post, which was written over the weekend, came at a time when I was shocked and devastated by the killing of Alex Pretti. God walked me through a portion of Psalm 34 and showed me how He is close to the brokenhearted and those who are crushed in spirit. Next, we looked at the reality of overwhelm. God took my thoughts to the concept of a false summit, a point when you are hiking and you think you've almost reached the top, just to find out it was merely and outcropping and you have much further to go - uphill. In life, not every question gets wrapped up in a perfect answer with a neat little bow on top. Sometimes we come across hard questions, those whose answers are not readily apparent or not very satisfactory. It's easy to shy away from these, especially if I don't feel like I have any authority with which to write on them, but this week I did what I could to tackle them head on. Finally, on Friday, we were comforted with the knowledge that God has carried us since we were born and even when our hair is gray, He will sustain us. No matter what challenges we face, what worry plagues our heart, what devastation overtakes us, God is right there with us, holding us up with His mighty right hand. We will not be crushed!

 Wisdom for your time and priorities was the focus of week four of our study. I began with a verse that told me my days are numbered, but rather than making me afraid, it gave me peace! Walking in this truth, that God has foreknowledge of our days and that He's developed a perfect and beautiful plan, how do we align ourselves with it? How do we seek out wisdom? The next day we learned about how those who seek wisdom will find it and how wisdom loves those who love her. I was blessed with an additional teaching from the book of Isaiah about how the Holy Spirit, true and complete wisdom, comes alongside us and tells us, "This is the way." There are a million things around trying to distract us and keep us from hearing from God and following Him. How do we fight against them? We have to guard our heart. The Byrds had it right back in 1965 when Ecclesiastes 3 couldn't get out of their heads, so they turned it into a song. It brought this scripture to life for all of us and calls us to recognize that to everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3:1). For our last post of the week I combined it with my "Making it Work" series because that's exactly what it was. God taught me through this and other recent teaching that just because I couldn't do all of something, doesn't mean I couldn't do some of it, eventually getting the whole task done. This changed the way I approached my chores, and life in general!

 Week five set me to dreaming as we explored God's wisdom for our purpose and calling. I was impressed on Monday by the idea that God has prepared in advance good works that He had given me to do, just as the upper room was prepared in advance for Jesus and His disciples to observe their final earthly Passover together. You know how I mentioned that God was speaking to me about living in the "Already but not yet" during week 2? Yeah, that theme came back on Tuesday of this week as I explored the process of David becoming king, even though he had already been anointed. The next day's verse got me to dreaming about how God could use me because I am weak, which led into Thursday's reminder to count the cost before embarking on a project. I ended the week filled with peace and joy as I contemplated exercising the gift of blogging.

 My husband and I celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary at the beginning of the final week of our study which influenced the way I looked at God's wisdom for stewarding what He has entrusted to us. The first day's passage brought to mind a stewardship truth that has been on my heart in recent months: God expects growth on what He is lending to us. I'm actually formulating the follow-up post I mentioned in this one regarding stock call options right now and I'm hoping it'll come out next week. Tuesday's verse was a repeat of one we had looked at in April of last year, but as usual, God taught me something new from it about living with wisdom. The next day was Ash Wednesday, so I stepped out of our study for a special post, meaning that Thursday is when we looked at the Wife of Noble Character from Proverbs 31. My husband's passion and care for people inspired the fourth post of this week where I ask, "How are you?" Finally, our last day of the study explores the truth that only God can fill the God-shaped hole in each of our hearts.

Here's the Thing: I learned SO MUCH from this study! It was definitely my favorite study of the year, and not just 2026 but the last 12 months. I definitely don't know all there is to know about God's wisdom now, this was just the tip of the iceberg, but I know so much more and I'm hungry to continue learning. I hope you are too!