Wise Choices
“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us—yes, establish the work of our hands.”
Today’s Text: Psalm 90 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Moses was praying that the things we do in our lives would be fruitful and lead to blessings. Unless the favor of the Lord our God rests on us, the work of our hands will never be established. Without the favor of the Lord our God, the best of our days will be filled with troubles and sorrow. Experiencing the favor of the Lord our God requires fear of the Lord and knowing that He alone has numbered our days.
And that takes godly wisdom. But there is a problem with it comes to pursuing godly wisdom. When we try to pursue godly wisdom, the world will tell us that we are being naive, idealistic, irresponsible, or even foolish, leading also to trouble and sorrow.
And so, we have to make a decision. Are we going to pursue the wisdom of God, that comes from His word, or are we going the pursue the wisdom of the world, which might seem like a smoother journey until we see the waterfall in front of us leading to death.
The wisdom of God would tell us that the choice is obvious. The wisdom of the world makes us wonder, “What to choose? What to choose?”
It’s not that pursuing the wisdom of the world is without its own challenges, either, It’s just that when we pursue the wisdom of the world, we think (we are deluded into thinking) that we can manage and control the level of suffering.
The Bible never said, “For if you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is a feel-good-counsellor-genie, who is primarily interested in helping us to fulfill our agenda, our dreams, and our desires,’ you will be saved.”
No. The Bible says,
What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ …. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
— Philippians 3:8, 10, 11
Of course, the Apostle Paul wrote this from prison, expecting that he would die. And by that time, he had already suffered greatly. But I don’t think that the Apostle Paul started his journey desiring to suffer like he did. He started his journey recognizing that the most important thing for everyone is to know Christ.
And I don’t think that everyone is called to suffer in the same way that Apostle Paul did either. But what shall we choose: to know Christ or to know the world?
Father, All things are in Your hands—the world, this church, my family, my very life. Forgive me for choosing to follow the ways of the world instead of the ways of Your word. Give me wisdom so that I might know Christ. Lord, I don’t want to suffer like the Apostle Paul, but I desire to know Christ. Do with me as You know is best. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
