The Gift of Wisdom

“The Holy Spirit gives some the spiritual gift of wisdom to not only impart the truth and understanding to believers, but to invoke a response of holiness and worship lived out in the world and amongst God’s people. Wisdom doesn’t end with knowledge but is expressed in transformed hearts and lives….They can often see through the confusion of a situation and can give direction that would help an individual or group obtain a God-glorifying goal. The church needs those with the spiritual gift of wisdom to guide her through uncertain or difficult times.”

The description above certainly describes King Solomon, who asked God for wisdom. This spiritual gift is not only about having knowledge, but also about being able to use that knowledge in real life situations. The above statement also says that this gift can help the church with “uncertain or difficult times.” Surely, we could use people with this gift as we are still finding our way out of the pandemic and trying to discern what we have learned that we will keep and what things need to be overcome for people to come back to the church and to bring others in.

For those of us who do not have the spiritual gift of wisdom, we are still called to exercise this gift with the possibility of gaining skills in this area. So here are four ideas to exercise the wisdom that God gave us and find ways to better serve God and others:

1. Modern-day Proverbs

Try your hand at writing proverbs for the world today. The idea is not to simply modernize proverbs from the Bible, but to really think about insights you have had that could enhance the world for others especially those in your local church. An example might be “In order to speak your own truth, you have to be willing to return the favor.”

2. Wake up to Wisdom

Find a book of wisdom sayings. You might even find a book that has exclusively Biblical wisdom. After waking up in the morning, read a word of wisdom and jot it down. Then reflect on it all day and if there is an occasion to live it out or share it with someone else, do so. At the end of the day, reflect on how this saying might have changed you and what you did throughout your day.

3. Wisdom Literature 101

As much as we would like to claim all the books of wisdom in the world, there are other religions that have books of wisdom also. Do some looking through these books and think about the differences and similarities there are between them and Biblical wisdom. Then think about whether some of these books might be ecumenical enough to embrace.

4. Identify the Problem

We would not be human if we didn’t have a problem or two come up in our lives. Think about a problem you might be working through in your life. Then take time to pray for discernment from God about how this problem might be solved for God’s glory. If you feel led to talk to someone about the problem, listen closely when they talk. They may be God’s way of helping you discern.