Wisdom and Discernment

Today is February 26th and the focus word is ‘wisdom’ and ‘discernment,’ and the focus verse is Pro.2. 3- 5 – “If you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”
Declaration: The Spirit grants me wisdom and discernment today for every decision I make.
Our focus is on wisdom and discernment, which are very essential for us.
Four points to ponder:
1.     Wisdom must be sought intentionally
We get some wisdom from school, parents, from the wise and so on but the Bible asks us to search for wisdom. If you call out or cry aloud wisdom does not casually fall; it is pursued passionately. Those who desire wisdom must value it above convenience, ego or impulse. We may even receive it from those who are younger than us. If we keep our ego aside and work, hunt, pray for wisdom, we will receive!
James 1. 5 – “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God….” In short, if we ask God, the source of all wisdom, we will receive wisdom. How many of us pray for wisdom? If you pray from the depths of your heart – Lord, give me wisdom! Teach me your truth and wisdom! There is a verse which says, “Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”
Pro. 4.7 – “The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom….”
Col 1.9 “….. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives…” There are many apostolic prayers by Paul found in the letters Ephesians chapters 1, 3, Colossians chapters 1, 3 – apostolic prayers prayed by him. In Eph. 1, as we read we find Paul praying that “the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation….” The same is written in Col 1.9… 
Col 1.9 says, “we continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,” The Spirit of God is the Spirit of knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
Proverbs is generally known as the book of wisdom. King Solomon received a lot of godly wisdom and they have been recorded in the book of Proverbs. Paul says, I continually pray for you to receive knowledge, wisdom and understanding.
Knowledge, understanding and wisdom are three words that are repeatedly found in Proverbs and they are interconnected. It is a package of three and we receive it from the Holy Spirit. We are luckier than the people of the Old Testament because we will receive knowledge, understanding and wisdom together through the Holy Spirit. Hallelujah!
Wisdom is not information; it is divine direction.
The level of understanding and output of an ordinary person is different from that of a person who has godly wisdom and understanding. How many will pray for wisdom?
2.     The fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom
Those who have nothing to do with God, those who do not have any fellowship with Him will not have wisdom. The wisdom I speak of is not scientific or general knowledge. Not the kind that IAS, IPS, IFS or civil service people have gained through a lot of reading and passing exams with top merits – that is not the knowledge I’m referring to. No, I am not referring to the scientific or worldly knowledge but to the knowledge of God – the spiritual knowledge; knowledge about eternity. Scientific knowledge does not serve any purpose except in the worldly sense. An example would be a scientist who has made many discoveries. This serves the purpose for mankind but a person with knowledge of eternity of God is in reality – the wise.
True discernment begins with reverence of God. The fear of the Lord aligns the heart before it guides the mind. When the heart is connected to God, the mind directs us in the right way.
Pro.9.10 – “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,…” Those who do not fear the Lord cannot claim that they have wisdom – not necessarily. The elderly need not have this wisdom because of their years. The LKG level of wisdom is ‘Fear of the Lord!’ Only those who fear the Lord will gain wisdom. 
Ps.111.10 – “…. all who follow His precepts have good understanding.” In other words, those who diligently obey/follow God’s word have wisdom. An example would be a person with high IQ, well versed in AI technology doing a lot of presentations and is immensely rich but is not God fearing, zero knowledge of the Word; has no understanding of life after death is a zero. This is a changing world. Whatever is found here will change.
Eccl. 12.13 – “…. Fear God and keep His commands...”
Discernment is sharpened when pride is surrendered. For any earthly structure to stand; it needs a strong foundation. A structure is based on its foundation. Similarly, the fear of the Lord is the basic foundation and the wisdom received builds on it. All our life decisions should be based on the fear of the Lord and that is how one’s life is built. Paul speaks of wisdom as the master builder on the foundation of Jesus Christ. A master builder/architect’s main focus would be to lay a strong foundation with piling etc. because in that lies the future!
3.     Discernment protects from deception
This world is very deceptive. Right from the garden of Eden, deception, scamming, cheating all that happens. We live in a world of noise, opinions and false impressions, illusions. Read a newspaper or watch TV – you’ll find many scams,  misleading advertisements through whatsapp, Facebook, SMS, etc. We hear of many who have been scammed of their money. Some chase offers and lose everything. That is where we need discernment of right and wrong.
Heb 5.14 says “….solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.” Through constant and consistent training, they have learnt to discern between good and bad which is not possible for freshers or newbies.
In 1Kings 3.19, Solomon asked for a discerning heart. Pray – give me a discerning heart.
1Jn.4.1 says, “… test the spirits to see whether they are from God...” Do not blindly believe in all spirits. Instead test and see if it is the Spirit of God.
Discernment prevents costly mistakes. A single wrong decision can prove to be very costly. A jeweler, a gemologist can identify a fake diamond from a real one. A cashier in the bank identify a fake note from an original; they know the markers. Knowing deeply sharpens discernment. We ourselves can understand things better than we used to in our younger days especially under the grace of the Holy Spirit.
4.     The Holy Spirit is our teacher.
Wisdom is not merely learnt, it is revealed. Bookish knowledge is not wisdom. We gain knowledge. Wisdom is not merely learnt. Rather, it is revealed and Holy Spirit is the revelator. Jesus promised that the Spirit would guide believers into truth.
Jn16.13 says “…when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth.”
Isaiah 30.21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you,..” In your mind, in your conscience, in your spirit – you will hear a voice saying this is not right; follow this, go forward. We hear a voice from within.
Eph1.17 talks about the spirit of wisdom and revelation. The Spirit gives insight beyond human logic.
Never make hasty decisions.
Pause, pray, seek! Read the Bible and then come to a decision. We need to understand that wisdom is still available. Discernment is accessible. Guidance is promised by God even if no one else is there for you but the Holy Spirit is for you and in you to guide you.
Just as we read in the beginning, we need to cry and pray for wisdom and discernment. We should pray with deep clarity. When we seek diligently, God’s Holy Spirit will impart wisdom and discernment to us! Hallelujah!