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• wisdom

My phone’s GPS rerouted me around some construction when I was in Atlanta last month. Grateful to not have to sit in additional traffic, I marveled at the days when I printed out a step-by-step map ahead of time, subject to whatever obstacles I’d find along the way. Or the spiral bound map books in large cities that continued on non-consecutive pages. And before my own driving days, we relied on the big atlas maps that didn’t fit in the glove compartment.

We’ve come a long way from outdated printed maps. Some cars now come with a built-in GPS system, which is a moot point in some places in Latin America where a point of reference is more accurate than a physical address.

Without making any gender generalities, there are those who will stop and ask for directions, and those who will stubbornly insist that they know where they are going.

And while some of you would now like to point your finger at a man in your life who refuses to ask for directions, I invite you to carry the application over to our spiritual journey…

We have no cosmic GPS directing our path with a booming voice or British accent. Nor are we subject to the whims of a puppeteer who determines our every movement.

We would be foolish to follow blind guides (Matt. 23) or guides who were unfamiliar with the path to be traveled.

Rather, God, in his infinite wisdom, has provided us with his Word and his Spirit as guides that we can choose to follow or not.

John 16:13 refers to the Holy Spirit as the one to guide us into all truth. And who better to guide us than our loving, all-knowing Father and Creator?

We may prefer a detailed roadmap, but just as I trust the GPS on my phone to reroute me when there is trouble ahead, I must stay in tune with the GHS (Guidance of the Holy Spirit) to direct my steps to the Father.

• wisdom

“Of making books, there is no end, and much study wearies the body” (Ecc. 12:12b). This was a popular quote during finals week among the college students. Their brains were on overload and there was no more room to cram more information.

When I graduated with my Bachelor of Arts degree from Harding University, having studied Communication Disorders and Spanish, I was ready to conquer the world. I thought I knew it all and that grad schools would be lining up to receive me. Those who promoted the idea of gaining a year or two of experience before entering grad school didn’t make sense to me. I remember naively thinking, “But I know it all now, fresh out of school.” I shudder to recall my prideful and ignorant thoughts.

However, grad school would wait since God had a different plan for my life and I proceeded to follow him into full-time ministry instead.

I soon learned that it is not about what you know, but how you apply it and your attitude toward learning.

Listening to non-Christians before I blurted out all of what I knew from Scripture enabled me to reach them with the message they most needed to hear.

I began to close the gap between knowing something and being able to teach that something in a way that communicates to others.

You can obtain all the knowledge in the world, but until you put it into practice and can teach it to others, it’s worthless. And experience is often the best teacher.

I am grateful to the many patient teachers in my life (God being the best of all!) who have imparted a love of learning, not just teaching.

The more you know, the more you know you don’t know.

And the wise men in Matthew 2 knew this well. The wise men sought wisdom. The wise men sought Jesus.

What wisdom are you seeking today that you can then share with others?