If I had a dollar for every time I have looked at my kids and wondered what the heck to do with them, I would be a rich woman. I have never undertaken anything in my life as humbling as being a mom. Holding my firstborn in my arms, I prayed over and over again, “Oh God, please don’t let me screw this up!”
Twenty-one years and two more kids later, that’s still pretty much my go-to prayer.
That’s why these words from Paul David Tripp’s New Morning Mercies resonated with me so strongly:
To sinners (and that includes us all), wisdom is not natural… It is hard to gain wisdom by research or experience because they are filtered and interpreted by our own foolish hearts! Here is where the Bible greets us with a radical, counterintuitive message. You can’t buy wisdom. You can’t get it by hard work or lots of experience. No, wisdom is the result of rescue and relationship. To be wise, you need first to be rescued from you. You need to be given a new heart, one that is needy, humble, seeking, and ready to get from above what you can’t find on this earth. And then you will need to be brought into relationship with the One who is wisdom. Colossians 2:3 says of Jesus, ‘in [him] are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Think of this: grace has connected you to the One who is wisdom. Grace has caused wisdom to live inside you. This means wisdom is always with you and always available.
And if that’s not wonderful enough, Tripp goes on to say:
The One who is wisdom now guides you. Wisdom protects you. Wisdom convicts you. Wisdom teaches and matures you. Wisdom encourages and comforts you. Wisdom works to change your thoughts and redirect your desires. Wisdom forgives your past and holds your future in his hands. And wisdom will welcome you into an eternity where foolishness will be no more. Today you will once again demonstrate your need for wisdom’s work. Don’t resist. Reach out for help with a thankful heart; wisdom has come to be with you forever.
Amen!!
