Wisdom A Young Woman’s Search
by Joanna Langley

On the eve of Easter Sunday, God guided me through a series of questions I had on my heart about wisdom. This experience is very precious to me and I would like to share it with you.

Proverbs (a favourite book of mine) tells us that “getting wisdom is the most important thing you can do!” (Proverbs 4:7). This verse is so clear and precise I couldn’t ignore it. Proverbs is packed with verses like this about wisdom and these had left me hungry to find out how I can get my hands on some! Then God’s light shone.

On Saturday night I read that “A wise person is hungry for truth, while the fool feeds on trash” (Prov. 15:14). “That’s it!” I thought. “I have been hungry for truth—this means I am wise!” This seemed like good news to me and I sat back in my bed, excited at the thought, but within a few seconds I realised how independent that statement was. I knew as a vessel I could do nothing apart from Christ (John 15:4) and was left wondering, “So what is wisdom?”

In “The Key To Everything,” Norman describes how he used to think he could have love and power channeled into him, and he would then be more loving and more powerful. God showed him that this was impossible, as love is a Person— Him! (1John 4:8). I thought that surely the same is true of wisdom. I knew there was more to see and as I lay in the dark, I realised I could ask God to show me, and He would (James 1:5). Seconds after asking Him, I saw an image of a huge bunch of flower buds. In the space of a second or two they grew and exploded into magnificent flowers in full bloom (similar to the way nature shows speed up the film to illustrate the process of flower growth). Immediately I sat up and thought, “Wow—what was that?” I tried to visualise the image again but couldn’t. I knew it was from God and wondered what He was illustrating. Then I remembered again how Norman talks about receptivity and utilisation through abiding in the vine: “…though the vine is the life and the branch the channel, yet the branch does things—it utilises the sap and produces leaf and flower and fruit.” I thought that maybe this is what wisdom is—the fruit of receptivity. As we continue to say yes to Christ (receptivity) and be obedient to all God has shown us thus far (utilising the sap—Christ) we bear the fruit of wisdom and grow and blossom in our faith, just like the flowers.

However, God had more for me to see. My eyes fell on Romans 16:27, “To God, who alone is wise.” As I realised I was wanting what Norman wanted, to be wiser, God told me “No, only I am wise!” At that moment, a sudden stillness came upon the room and I felt very afraid. My heart was beating faster as I read “Fear of the Lord, is the beginning of wisdom” (Prov. 9:10). God showed me in many more verses that wisdom is a Person. In particular, I read Proverbs 8—a chapter that intrigues me—in a new light. Wisdom is talking: “The Lord formed me from the beginning, before he created anything else. I was appointed in ages past at the very first, before the earth began.” Then as I read Colossians 1:15 I made the connection: “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before God made anything at all and is supreme over all creation. Christ is the one through whom God created everything in heaven and earth. He existed before everything else began and he holds all creation together.” Jesus Christ is Wisdom. Therefore, as a vessel containing Jesus Christ, I have wisdom— I have the Person! Further confirmation came in 1 Corinthians 1:30: “God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God and He gave himself to purchase our freedom.” Hallelujah!

While this is wonderful news for all of us, it is important also to remember that each of us is still responsible for utilising the sap. God cannot reveal His wisdom through us if we do not take the light we have already been given and walk in that light. “To whom much has been given, much will be required; to whom much has been entrusted even more will be demanded” (Luke 13:48).

Joanna is a part-time student and works at Tesco in Leicester, England.