Knowledge is power but only if you use it. Knowledge that is never applied does nothing and brings no value to one’s life. You can know everything there is to know. But if you never use it you are no better than a fool. The same can be said for the wisdom we receive from God. When asked, our God is willing to give us the wisdom needed for any situation. But it will never help us if we don’t apply it.
James 1:22 (ESV)
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
God offered King Solomon anything he would ask. His request was simply the wisdom needed to lead the Lord‘s people. God honored Solomon’s request making him the wisest man to ever live. He could speak about anything with authority and truth. Solomon even used the wisdom he was given to grow Isreal into a great and powerful nation.
1 Kings 3:5 (ESV)
5 At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.”
1 Kings 3:9–12 (ESV)
9 Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?”
10 It pleased the Lord that Solomon had asked this. 11 And God said to him, “Because you have asked this, and have not asked for yourself long life or riches or the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself understanding to discern what is right, 12 behold, I now do according to your word. Behold, I give you a wise and discerning mind, so that none like you has been before you and none like you shall arise after you.
1 Kings 4:29–34 (ESV)
29 And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding beyond measure, and breadth of mind like the sand on the seashore, 30 so that Solomon’s wisdom surpassed the wisdom of all the people of the east and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all other men, wiser than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, Calcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol, and his fame was in all the surrounding nations. 32 He also spoke 3,000 proverbs, and his songs were 1,005. 33 He spoke of trees, from the cedar that is in Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of the wall. He spoke also of beasts, and of birds, and of reptiles, and of fish. 34 And people of all nations came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and from all the kings of the earth, who had heard of his wisdom.
However, Solomon did not apply the wisdom God gave in his own life. He knew the right way to live and probably would have counseled others to not go the way he did. Yet still in the end he went against the commands of God and married many foreign women. Which ultimately turned him away from the God of Isreal. He built places for his wives to worship their gods and he began to bow to them.
1 Kings 11:1–2 (ESV)
1 Now King Solomon loved many foreign women, along with the daughter of Pharaoh: Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite women,
2 from the nations concerning which the Lord had said to the people of Israel, “You shall not enter into marriage with them, neither shall they with you, for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods.” Solomon clung to these in love.
1 KINGS 11:4–10 (ESV)
4 For when Solomon was old his wives turned away his heart after other gods, and his heart was not wholly true to the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. 5 For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. 6 So Solomon did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and did not wholly follow the Lord, as David his father had done. 7 Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the abomination of Moab, and for Molech the abomination of the Ammonites, on the mountain east of Jerusalem. 8 And so he did for all his foreign wives, who made offerings and sacrificed to their gods.
The Lord Raises Adversaries
9 And the Lord was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the Lord, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice 10 and had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods. But he did not keep what the Lord commanded.
Solomon had all the wisdom God could offer but it still couldn’t save him because he didn’t use it. He knew that God had said to not marry foreign women but he did anyway. He even knew that God said not to marry them because they would turn him away from the Lord. The only reason he still did must have been because he thought that what God said wouldn’t happen to him.
We need to use the wisdom that God gives us. To make sure we do not fall away as King Solomon did. Receiving wisdom is great but it does not make us wise unless we use it. Jesus said that the wise man was the one that heard His word and applied it. That man would be able to weather the toughest storm. The very same is true from the wisdom He gives. Those who use it will be known as wise and will overcome their situation. While those who receive God‘s wisdom but go their own way will be known as fools. Struggling to overcome even the simplest challenges.
Matthew 7:24–27 (ESV)
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”
God’s wisdom is able to help us to distinguish right from wrong. It can guide us through life and light the way to salvation. For those things to be true in your life though you must seek wisdom and apply it. You can find God’s wisdom through prayer as we saw in the verse from James. Wisdom can also be found by studying the Bible and listening to the men God uses to proclaim His word. God is pouring out His wisdom every day on those who are searching for it.
If you leave this article with anything make sure it is the fact that God‘s wisdom can only help you if you apply it. Having it and not using it will get you nowhere. But those who have it and use it in their own lives will go farther than they ever thought possible. It will lead them to salvation and they will not fall away. Seek after God’s wisdom every day in every situation and make sure you use it!
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