How to Seek the Wisdom of God
Seeking God’s wisdom can be difficult in our culture when we hear many people share their “wisdom” with us. Everyone has their own sense of truth, so it can be difficult to drown out the noise to find clarity when we seek God’s wisdom. Elle Sanders, Chase Oaks Church’s Central Worship Resident, shares her story about seeking the wisdom of God when trying to make important life decisions.
Facing Difficult Decisions
I’m at an honest-to-goodness crossroads in my life right now. Right this very moment, there’s a big life decision that needs to be made and to be honest, I’m a little overwhelmed. I’m painfully aware that whichever choice I make is going to rock my world in some big ways, some good ways, and some scary ways.
Even as I write this, the idea of making the choice is knocking a bit of the wind out of my lungs. Have you ever been here before? Are you here right now? If so, you’re probably doing what I’m doing, which is yelling things at God, such as “What in tarnation do I do next?” And you’re probably yelling really loud, so He can hear you way up there. In all seriousness, how do we seek the wisdom of God—something that seems too lofty and abstract—in a moment of crucial decision-making, which seems so urgent and concrete?
Understanding Who God Is
If we truly want to know the mind of God, we must begin by knowing the nature of God. I would argue that the only way to tap into the wisdom of God is through the Holy Spirit, who “searches everything, even the depths of God” (1 Corinthians 2). In many languages, the word for spirit and the word for breath are the same. So, we’re going to talk about our breath as a way of relating to the Holy Spirit. If connecting to your breath isn’t your thing, stick with me, because it’s merely a picture for how we can connect to God.
Breathe In, Breathe Out
First, breathe deeply. The air is there; just take it in.
Second, breathe again. This time fill your lungs to capacity and release it slowly. Notice how the air knows right where to go. Notice how your skin comes alive, your chest cavity rises and falls, and how the very presence of your breath puts your body at ease.
Third, keep breathing. The body and the breath are the perfect partners, the former on an infinite cyclical quest for the latter. So, here’s the picture: just like the breath in your lungs is accessible, transformative, and sustaining, so is the One who put it there (Genesis 2:7). Matthew 6:25-34 tells us that the presence of God in our lives can circumvent our anxiety but only if we seek Him first (verse 33). The order matters.
Seeking God's Wisdom
First, breathe deeply. Be confident that the counsel of God is accessible to you. Be intentional about how deeply you take it in by setting time in your schedule to connect with God. Start with reading His Word.
Second, breathe again. As you fill your heart and mind with His Word, reflect on how these truths inform and influence the way you see yourself, your world, and your choices. Start with small things like “How does the fatherly nature of God impact the way I choose to greet my kids after a rough day at work?”
Third, keep breathing. Your heart, mind, and soul were built to be sustained by the presence of God. Your need for Him is infinite and cyclical, so let your practice of seeking to know Him to be infinite and cyclical. Start to build a regular practice—a lifestyle—of seeking to know God. In the end, it’s not really about getting some direction or clarity out of God. It’s about living a life with Him, a glorious gift made possible by the blood of Christ.
No matter what season we might found ourselves in, we need to be intentional about connecting to God in much the same way we connect to our breath. If you, too, are at a crossroads in life with big decisions hanging in the balance and have been anxiously shouting “God, I need answers,” I invite you to join me in first admitting “God, I need you.” All else will follow suit.