Wisdom

I am on a quest, a little adventure so to speak.  I am in search of a great treasure that has been give to me but apparently I buried it somewhere in the midst of life.  I think it is located somewhere between trying to please others, worry, busyness and the laundry.

I am in search of Wisdom.  I have recently accepted the fact, that for me wisdom has been a fluke.  I understand a lot of things and I love to learn about a lot of things so I have knowledge.  But I had yet to grasp the concept of wisdom in my life.  I have realized this because the Lord told me so one day, that I need to stop taking other people's thoughts and using them for my own.  I need to give myself time on a daily basis to think and use this brain that God has so graciously given me and use it for myself.  He has so much to tell me and show me and teach me and yet I still put that time on the back burner.

I realized that I have been relying on others to satisfy this craving I have to be noticed and appreciated.  I use other peoples opinions or advice to help me make up my mind about what I believe instead of taking it before the throne. 

Nobody else has my children, my home, my life.  So why do I rely on others to tell me how to live it.  Granted you can learn things from others, especially those who have achieved wisdom, but that wisdom is something to ponder and pray about not just take for truth because someone said it.  We have to dwell on it and make sure that it is truth to us because God has given us the wisdom to believe it and hide it in our hearts. The Bible warns us not to be mislead or deceived, well the only way to do this is by letting the Holy Spirit lead us into what is truth.  I am not saying to question everything that is said to you but I do say that we need to pray about everything and if it is false then that will be revealed and if it is truth it will stay with you because you will have wisdom.

This may be confusing, I have been dealing with this topic for a couple of weeks now and I really wasn't sure how to write about it.  But I think a good example would be my walk with Christ.

I became a Christian was I was a child, but I really didn't understand what it meant for me.  My parents had spoken to me about it, I attended church every week, VBS in the summer, and I knew I should do it.  But I really didn't understand why until much later in life.  Now I think that it was ok that I accepted Christ this way, but I also realized that I needed to understand the "Why" before I could go past a certain point in my spiritual life.  I needed to develop the wisdom as to the importance of being a Christian and what it really meant to me, individually, not just why other people believed it and I agreed with it and that it was the right thing for me to do. 

I also think about my kids, and when I tell my 6 yr old something and get "why" and so many times I want to just say "because I said so" but I realize that sometimes she needs an explanation so that she can understand in her heart why she needs to do something or not do something.  We don't have a "because I said so" God, we have a God who wants an intimate relationship with us and who wants us to have wisdom.  Now sometimes we may not fully understand the "Why" or the response may be "Trust me, I love you and you will someday understand why" but He will explain that it is for our good and He explains that He loves us and wants us to trust Him and He gives us peace.

 I believe that wisdom happens in your mind and your heart.  I also believe that this gift is given to us concerning every aspect of our lives, little or large it doesn't matter.  God wants us to have wisdom, His wisdom, in every issue that we are going through.  The only way we can achieve this is to go before Him and ask for it - to open our minds and hearts to Him and not just others.  He may use others to help but in the end wisdom will come from Him.

I Choose Joy

The Lord is showing me so much these days that it makes me feel sad that I have wasted so much time in the past worrying, frustrated, overwhelmed etc.  Some of the lessons I'm learning are: to not allow myself to get overwhelmed, to forgive quickly, to not take on other people's offenses and most importantly - to choose joy.

Choosing joy was probably the hardest because it is the result of doing all those other things.  I am learning that instead of allowing our emotions and situations to control us we have a choice as to how we will react.  I can honestly say that I am learning how to choose joy.  James 1:2 talks about considering all our trials as opportunities for great joy.  We have a choice whether we are going to allow other people to irritate us, we have a choice about whether or not we are going to forgive or ask for forgiveness for a wrong we committed, we have a choice about whether or not we are going to say "no" to prevent getting too busy.  I have been learning the steps needed to have joy in my life and low and behold in order to have joy you also must have - Love, Peace, Grace and Mercy.  It is a package deal!

I have to admit that even though this last month or so has been very hectic I have probably had the most Joy in my life than I have ever had before.  I look at out situation daily and am very thankful for the blessings God has bestowed upon us.  I am very blessed to have my family, my friends, my job, my home.  I am learning that other people's reactions are not my responsibility, that other people's wants are not my responsibility and that if I have wronged someone I need to ask for forgiveness and move on, whether or not they give me forgiveness isn't my problem.   God will show me what He wants me to do and if it isn't what others want me to do that is ok. It is my life and I'm not going to waste it anymore with negative thoughts and emotions.

Joyfully Yours
Lisa