By: Dwain Neilson Esmond
« Back to Devotions PageTwo of the most special gifts God has given us are prayer and The Bible. I know what you’re thinking: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Heard it all before. The Bible is great and I should pray more. Whatever! Believe me, I know how you feel.
For as long as I can remember, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with the Bible. I can think of no other book that inspires me more than the Bible. It also gets “on my nerves,” but I’ll save that for later. During one of my recent devotions, I read this verse from Proverbs 8:11: “For wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her.” Cool verse, right? Inspirational? It was to me!
But a funny thing happened when I began to apply that verse to my life. Did I really value wisdom, more than, say, a Porsche 911, which I have always wanted to own. The 911 is simply one of the best sportscars in the world, and my chance of ever owning one is pretty slim. Wisdom vs. the 911. Hmmm. Which is better?
If I’m honest with myself, I’d have to admit that wisdom is better. Why? Well, wisdom reminds me that my wife would probably assassinate me in cold blood if she found out that I had purchased a car that costs as much as a house. Wisdom also tells me that all my money belongs to God and should be used for His glory. Am I really going to glorify God by spending $100,000 on a car? Er, probably not! (And where would I put that pesky baby seat anyway?)
Wisdom tells me the truth, but I don’t always like to hear it. It is at those moments that I’m tempted to “hate” the Bible. It just seems to get in the way of the stuff I want to do. But is this really the case? When I think things through—as I did with my Porsche obsession—I often discover that God is NOT trying to rain on my happiness at all. In fact, I’ve learned that He is trying to save me a lot of pain and heartache. In my case, the problem is not the Porsche; the problem is the effect it would have on my life and those around me. God could give a Porsche to someone else and they would handle the blessing in the right way. Wisdom tells me that I need to be careful with such things.
I might not always like what God tells me in His Word, but because I love Him, I will obey. That’s where gift number 2 comes in handy.
Thought Questions:
1. In what ways has God blessed you in following His Word?
2. What is something that you need to ask God for extra wisdom in order to deal with?
