Do you want to be smart?

Memory Verse:

“If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it.” James 1:5 [The Living Bible]

Do you ever wish that you could be the smartest kid in your class or maybe in the whole world? Do you think it would give you a sense of power?

I love to watch the show “Jeopardy”. I am amazed at the knowledge the contestants have and the ability they have to retain all that knowledge. They can pull the right answer out of their brain in a split second. I admire them for that because I can’t do that.

The Bible tells us that the smartest man that ever lived was King Solomon. Of course, Jesus was wiser but He wasn’t just a man, He was also God.

As a young boy, Jesus lived in Nazareth with his mother, Mary, and His father, Joseph, and His brothers and sisters. The Bible says He grew and became strong in spirit; He was filled with wisdom and God’s grace was upon Him.

Nazareth was almost seventy miles from Jerusalem where the temple was. The families in Nazareth couldn’t travel to Jerusalem every week to worship so they built a synagogue. Here Jesus and the other boys went to school to learn to read and write. Here they also learned the teachings of Moses and the other prophets.

When Jesus turned twelve, He joined His parents in going to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. Other people, along with their relatives, travelled with them. It took days because they had to walk; some probably rode their donkeys.

The feast was held in the beautiful temple with its wide porches and huge pillars of stone. The Jews from all over Asia Minor came to this feast so huge crowds filled the courts and the temple.

After the feast was ended, Mary and Joseph travelled toward home. At the end of the first day they looked for Jesus. The group they travelled with was big and they hadn’t seen Jesus. They thought He must be in the group somewhere, hanging out with his friends or his cousins.

But they couldn’t find Him and no one had seen Him. They made their way back to Jerusalem. They were worried. They couldn’t imagine what had happened to Him. Jesus was a good child and never gave them any trouble.

Finally, after searching for three days, they found Him. He was in the temple, sitting among the wise teachers of the day, the Scribes and Pharisees. He was having deep spiritual discussions with them about the things of God and the prophets. They were amazed at His answers and that He understood everything. They did not yet realize that Jesus knew everything because He is the Son of God.

Do you know that God wants to share His wisdom with you also? It’s true. God says if we want wisdom all we need to do is ask Him for it. The only thing He asks of us is faith that He will give it to us. The kind of wisdom He gives us is not necessarily just any kind of information but understanding to learn from your difficulties. Don’t we all want that kind of knowledge?

Godly wisdom begins with a reverence for God. We need to spend a lot of time with Him. It’s the same as spending time with your older brother or sister or a good friend. The more time you spend with that person the better you get to know him and to become like him.

The more time you spend with God in prayer and reading His Word, the more you become like Him and begin to think like Him. God says that all the knowledge we need to handle everything in life well is in His Word; we need to read it, ask for understanding and do it.

Going Deeper for Parents:

God’s wisdom leads to freedom. Our obedience to the wisdom He gives us leads to freedom from our sinful nature. God gives us wisdom but we still need to choose to live it.

I think of King Solomon. He was so wise. He was a man of vast knowledge which touched every area of his life. Then I wonder- why was he so foolish to set up hills of worship for his ungodly wives? Why did he even choose ungodly wives?

God gives us His wisdom and reveals Himself to us but it is still our choice to act upon it. We can be like King Solomon whose son lost most of his kingdom because of Solomon’s sin. Or we can be like Jesus, who chose obedience to the wisdom He had and surrendered to God’s way, going the way of the cross.

Ruth Willms

Author: The Lion Tree
http://ruthwillms.com
ruth.willms@gmail.com

Want to know more about how God can help you every day? Check out my new book The Lion Tree at http://ruthwillms.com

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