Around this time of year I buy a new devotional book. For those that don’t know what a devotional book is, it’s a book that has daily readings from the Bible and offers practical ways to live out what has been read. Usually each reading is marked with a date.
The last couple of years I have had Joyce Meyer books. This year I haven’t had the energy to go to Koorong Bookstore to buy a new devotional so I pondered through our collection of books in the playroom.
I found an old book of Daily Readings for Women with lines on the page where I could write reflections or prayers.
I started to read this devotional at least 10 years ago. I stopped reading it sometime in March because that’s when I stopped writing my prayers. Obviously work and the busyness of life prevented me from reading it further. So much for that New Year’s resolution of reading my Bible daily!
What has been interesting is how similar my prayers are from ten years ago to today. Same prayers, different seasons.
Ten years ago I was newly married, a young 21 year old trying to work out what kind of career to pursue so that I could be a stay-at-home mum. Fast forward to now, and I’m living the stay-at-home mum dream with the career on hold and I’ve slightly changed direction.
The prayers that I have been praying for the last ten years have specifically asked for wisdom. Wisdom on how to continue to be a loving wife. Wisdom on how to be a good mum. Wisdom when making big decisions. Wisdom with my career. Wisdom on how to write this blog. Wisdom on how to manage our finances better. Wisdom when dealing with others. For me wisdom is a precious thing that I value highly because when you make the right decisions using wise counsel, life seems to run a bit more smoother and you can avoid nasty situations.
The times I need wisdom the most are when I am faced with situations where people have done the wrong thing by me and all I want to do is be mean back or be the upper hand. But this is not godly and it’s not a great way to live. Wisdom to know how to calmly deal with these situations is really what my heart desires. I’ve had a situation that reared its head at the beginning of this year where I have been in the right but someone has done the wrong thing by me.
The reality is people will always do the wrong thing by you. There is a nasty spirit of pride in the heart of every human being and when we entertain this spirit, it can bring out the worst in us. I’ve seen it bring out the worst out in me. Hence why I pray for wisdom every day so that I can attempt to live a life that honors God and blesses others.
It’s been a bit of a battle lately to live this out fully because sometimes doing the wise thing doesn’t bring out the upper hand results I really want to see. I didn’t realise I had a problem with pride until I was challenged with this particular stressful business situation. Ironic how it hit fairly soon after the amazing high of last year.
I was reminded of this when I discussed the situation with my parents who would have to be the most wisest people I know when it comes to dealing with business and probably life in general. Don’t be surprised when you’re hit with a low after a high. It’s often when we are in the low valleys that we learn our greatest lessons.
As a little girl, I loved the story of Solomon in the Bible. When given the opportunity to ask God for anything – he chose wisdom above everything else. God was pleased with this request and gave him not only wisdom but success in other areas of his life.
Who do you turn to for wisdom? Is wisdom something you value or do you value something higher?
Proverbs 13:10 Pride only breeds quarrels, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. NIV version.
