20 Where then does wisdom come from?
Where does understanding dwell?
21 It is hidden from the eyes of every living thing,
concealed even from the birds in the sky.
22 Destruction[b] and Death say,
“Only a rumor of it has reached our ears.”
23 God understands the way to it
and he alone knows where it dwells,
24 for he views the ends of the earth
and sees everything under the heavens.
25 When he established the force of the wind
and measured out the waters,
26 when he made a decree for the rain
and a path for the thunderstorm,
27 then he looked at wisdom and appraised it;
he confirmed it and tested it.
28 And he said to the human race,
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom,
and to shun evil is understanding.” (Job 28:20-28) NIV
Sometimes I read scripture and it touches the very core of my being. Tears well into the corners of my eyes as I think about the goodness of God in my life. These words affected me this way. I shudder to think where I would be if He had not pursued me.
Truthfully, I know exactly where I’d be! Still searching for that one “thing”, that one “person” that would fill the emptiness inside me. Nothing satisfied that longing for acceptance, significance, and unconditional love until I began my relationship with Him.
Quite a few years ago, I heard a sermon at our church that spoke of choosing one word as our focus each year instead of making resolutions. I’ve been doing that for several years now and have been amazed how God has used each word in my life for something going on at the time. The year I was unemployed my word was “abide”. It was the perfect word for that season of my life because abiding in Jesus is what got me through.
This past year my word was “light” and I am not sure any of my words have had more of an impact. I started the year still in a deep depression that I had been struggling with for quite some time. When He brought that word to my mind, it went with the verse “God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.” (1John 1:5b) I knew He was my way out of the darkness of soul I felt. During the course of the year, God has revealed the many meanings of the word through verses, studies, devotionals, and sermons. God spoke and light came into being. His word is light. Light is illumination (makes things visible, gives you understanding, the proverbial light bulb over your head). He taught me so much this past year about Him and about me—things I saw and understood for the first time. Light also means “not heavy”. He has lifted burdens from my heart and given me a freedom I didn’t know was possible. I am truly lighter in so many ways. Light is gentle, delicate. All colors depend on light. You can light a fire, ignite a flame. As I spent time with Him and let Him work, each of these meanings was revealed to me in different ways.
“The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.”
If we ask Him, God will reveal wisdom to us. Somehow or other as this year comes to a close, I feel wiser. It really has been a year of growth for me. It has been painful—I think I’ve cried buckets of tears as I’ve let go of so many lies (shun evil). In order to do this, I’ve had to bring them out into the light. Those lies buried deep in my heart were hidden in darkness. But no more! “Surrender it all to me”, I felt Him tell me. I was afraid of the magnitude of the pain of doing that. “On the other side of surrender is freedom” was what I sensed Him telling me in my spirit. And it was! Once I surrendered that last bit of my past, that last piece I was clutching, came freedom.
Today is Christmas. It is the day we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He came to earth to set us free. I have been singing Christmas Carols as long as I can remember but this year, in particular, there are many I cannot sing without tearing up. The gratitude I feel for what He did by coming to earth and sacrificing Himself for me is overwhelming. “O, come let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.”
Merry Christmas!
Lord, thank you for Jesus! Thank you for your plan of redemption through his birth, his life, and his death on a cross. Thank you that he was raised to life once again and now sits at your right hand interceding for those of us who call upon His name. Thank you for loving me as you do. In Jesus name, Amen
Cindy (gardnlady)
Sixty-six books in a year 