Wisdom
James 1:5 But anyone who needs wisdom should ask God, whose very nature is to give to everyone without a second thought, without keeping score. Wisdom will certainly be given to those who ask.
Through the next 5 posts I’m going to be going into a process that I use to help me through difficult situations. Do I use it every time? No, sadly I don’t, but when I do, I find that the situation diffuses itself a bit quicker. The outcome is a bit better and I don’t feel like I’ve been a total caveman to those whom I love.
How many times have we been faced with something for which we don’t have an answer or possibly all the information? If you’re like me at all and we’re all a bit similar in this regard, we jump in with both feet. We may get frustrated, irritated and/or angry. It could be that we freeze, trying to call on a past experience for guidance. But how many times have you stopped, taken a breath, looked skyward and said “God, I need your help”? Probably less often than we should have. It doesn’t even have to be a confrontational situation.
A few years ago, I was faced with obtaining a license to sell insurance. It’s a computer based multiple choice test approved by the state and administered by a 3rd party. You have 90 minutes to complete 100 questions on a variety of topics, in this case, on property and casualty insurance. I’d study daily at least 4 hours a day for about 2 weeks. Even though I had a background in insurance and knew a lot of the terms and concepts, I was far from being confident. In practice exams I scored at or just below the passing threshold, but now it was time for the real thing and I had to make the leap.
I pulled into a parking stall about 20 minutes before my scheduled time and tried to steady my nerves. With about 5 minutes left, I looked up and literally said, “God, I’m leaving this to you. I don’t know all the answers and I’m going to need your help.” Braced with a bit more confidence, I walked in to the office, they sat me down, gave me my instructions and the clock started ticking.
I was 3 or 4 questions into the test when I came across the first one I couldn’t answer. I read the question and answers several times and just couldn’t find the right answer. I bowed my head, closed my eyes and said “Father, please help me!”. A letter appeared in my mind and I put that down. Through the remainder of the test when I’d come across an questions I wasn’t sure of or didn’t know the answer, I’d go through the same process.
When I finished, with about 20 minutes to spare, I closed the browser and made the slow walk out of the exam room and to the test proctor just outside of the room. As I turned the corner, he had no expression but as I got close to his desk, he handed me my results and congratulated me. No, I don’t know if I scored 100% or just enough to pass (it’s a pass/fail situation) but I do know that each time I bowed my head and asked for help, I got it. I received the wisdom from God.
I could share other stories, but I’m sure if you think back there have been times that you’ve come to a resolution only because you looked to Him. The next time you’re faced with a situation, before jumping off without a clue, take a breath, bow your head and ask…