I Prayed For Wisdom and This Happened

“I wanted to be wiser so I didn’t make mistakes. But you can’t get wiser without mistakes.” - Unknown

I remember being a kid watching my older siblings make mistakes in their teenage years and trying to learn from them. I wanted to gain wisdom so I wouldn’t fall into any mistakes at all. I also really hoped to escape my parents disappointment or deal with any other repercussions but that’s not how it always works. It makes me wonder if this is why King Solomon in the BIble asked for wisdom. God could have given him anything he asked for but he chose wisdom.

The bible says “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” (James 1:5) Sounds amazing that something so precious is free and given so easily. I jumped at the chance of asking for wisdom immediately. Even though I tried to follow what I was learning from other’s mistakes I still found trouble following. At my young age I couldn’t understand why trials and trouble still followed. Maybe if I made wiser decisions, I thought. Or maybe if I could understand more. What I didn’t understand was that having wisdom was not about avoiding pain. Pain was sometimes inevitable. But that pain was also part of the package. One day I asked God why? Why was I going through this trial? The answer certainly enlightened me.

You desired wisdom. You prayed for wisdom. You don’t acquire wisdom without a classroom. Each trial came with a lesson. Each mess had a message. As I walked through and came out on the other side it taught me something and changed my character.

God is invested in our character, who we are becoming as we get older.

Stronger, wiser, gentler, more loving. The fruits of the spirit. As we pray for wisdom, this wisdom is not meant to help us attain peace forever. It will however help us avoid going through a cycle of the same issue. God even takes our mistakes and uses them to make us wiser. Each pain comes with a purpose. 

Think back to who you were as a child and how much wisdom you have gained on this end through everything you went through in life. It’s this wisdom we should then pass on to others just as we can learn from others as well. We may never have all of the answers, we may all be at different levels of wisdom. But focusing on your part, your lessons, your actions and using your energy to help others and keep moving forward is one of the wisest things you could ever do. As we strive to be like Jesus the student in us will get closer to the master. And the peace we do hope for will be a different kind of peace that we receive.