“The Sovereign Lord has given me a well-instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being instructed.”
Isaiah 50:4
One of the purposes of having the gift of wisdom is to provide sound advice to those who feel like giving up. Wisdom is something that you have to be trained to use. What we listen to is one means by which we can be trained.
Although this pas sage refers to the wisdom that Jesus had as the Son of God, His wisdom can also be applied to our own lives. Referring to Jesus’ devotional life, Mark wrote, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed” (Mark 1:35). Jesus invested the first hours of every day enriching His fellowship with the Heavenly Father. In this way, His ear was trained to hear and understand the heart of the Father. This understanding meant He was able to give wise counsel.
The Jews could not understand how Jesus had such insight and wisdom because He had received no academic education. When Jesus was faced with this question He answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me. Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him” (John 7:16-18). On another occasion Jesus told them, “For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34b). He later added, “The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life” (John 6:63). Every word that came from Jesus’ lips sprang from the heart of the Father and was guided by the Holy Spirit. This is why Jesus’ wisdom was different from man’s wisdom.
As He began His ministry, Jesus entered a Jewish synagogue, took the scroll of the Prophet Isaiah and read the following passage, “’The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips” (Luke 4:18-22).
SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Without knowing he was a great philosopher, a man walked up to Socrates and asked him, “How can I get to Mount Olympus?” Socrates told him, “Make sure every step that you make takes you in that direction.” If we want to know wisdom, we must make sure that every step we take follows in the footsteps of Jesus, and the example that He gave us to follow. If we want wisdom in order to take hope to those who need it the most, we should train our ears, starting in the early hours of every day. It is in the secret place where God reveals His heart to us. This way, we will not speak or act out of our own feelings, but we will be carriers of the heart of God.
TODAY’S DECLARATION
“I can speak wise words because I listen for God’s wisdom.”
Today’s post is an excerpt from Pastor Cesar Castellanos’ book, Declarations of Power for 365 Days of the Year: Volume One.
TODAY’S BIBLE READING
- Old Testament: Exodus 1-3; Psalms 24
- New Testament: Matthew 10:21-42; Acts 15:22-41
