#21.2 - Sevensational: The Spirit of Wisdom
I have to say, I am super excited to be writing about wisdom this week because when Holy Spirit brings us wisdom…we have the free will to make good choices!!! I am going to dive pretty deep into different areas of The Bible regarding wisdom but I am going to give insight and perspective on Proverbs because it’s essential to wisdom. The book of Proverbs actually opens up with its purpose and theme in Proverbs 1:1-7 “The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young—let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole: The Fear of The Lord is the last of the 7 Spirits I will write about on 3/7/26, so no coincidence that these exact words appear in Proverbs as well.)
Once upon a time in my younger years, I related wisdom and knowledge as one in the same…except…there’s a very big flaw with this thinking…wisdom also comes with experience and despite the fact that I had experienced a lot in my younger years…I wasn’t exactly living a biblical lifestyle. For instance, I know that I am smart; I have always had an affinity to read and write so I am well aware that if I can do it…anyone can crack open a book and gain knowledge (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole: Knowledge is another 1 of 7 characteristics of Holy Spirit which we will get into in blog 21.6 slated for 2/28/26 and as I am writing this…I realize that Wisdom and Knowledge in the order they are written in the bible are absolutely separated yet outlined by the first and the last of the 7 Spirits…interesting!). The kicker is…there’s TONS of smart people in the world (don’t get too cheeky with your thoughts here - LOL) and being smart enough to gain knowledge has nothing to do with wisdom unless you gain knowledge and wisdom through text that you choose to embrace and apply. I Biblically discovered there are even different types of wisdom that we can apply in James 3:13-18 (CSB), “Who among you is wise and understanding? By his good conduct he should show that his works are done in the gentleness that comes from wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and selfish ambition in your heart, don’t boast and deny the truth. Such wisdom does not come down from above but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where there is envy and selfish ambition, there is disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, compliant, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without pretense. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who cultivate peace.” I can’t rabbit hole down the different types because this blog would end up being some sort of wild collegiate dissertation, but overall, I am applying the belief that wisdom comes through experiencing God’s mercy and grace while learning AND applying it to our lives enough to speak on it to others authentically AND proverbially. I INTENTIONALLY italicized /proverbial/ there because I am going to break that down in the next paragraph…for now I am going to stick to the word “wisdom”. According to Merriam Webster's definition of Wisdom, “a: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships : insight. b: good sense : judgment. c: generally accepted belief. d: accumulated philosophical or scientific learning : knowledge. e: a wise attitude, belief, or course of action. f: the teachings of the ancient wise men.” Seems like a logical look at wisdom from a vocabulary perspective, so what does wisdom look like Biblically? Believe it or not there was a book in the Bible “taken out” called “The Book of Wisdom”. Wait…books taken out of The Bible?! Yes, it’s true. I am specifically talking about the texts known as The Apocrypha. I found a solid resource on this at Apocrypha - KJBO. King James Bible Online well-roundedly educates us on The Apocrypha by indicating, “The apocrypha is a selection of books which were published in the original 1611 King James Bible. These apocryphal books were positioned between the Old and New Testament (it also contained maps and genealogies). The apocrypha was a part of the KJV for 274 years until being removed in 1885 A.D. A portion of these books were called deuterocanonical books by some entities, such as the Catholic church. Many claim the apocrypha should never have been included in the first place, raising doubt about its validity and believing it was not God-inspired (for instance, a reference about magic seems inconsistent with the rest of the Bible: Tobit chapter 6, verses 5-8). Others believe it is valid and that it should never have been removed- that it was considered part of the Bible for nearly 2,000 years before it was recently removed a little more than 100 years ago. Some say it was removed because of not finding the books in the original Hebrew manuscripts. Others claim it wasn't removed by the church, but by printers to cut costs in distributing Bibles in the United States. Both sides tend to cite the same verses that warn against adding or subtracting from the Bible: Revelation 22:18. The word 'apocrypha' means 'hidden.' Fragments of Dead Sea Scrolls dating back to before 70 A.D. contained parts of the apocrypha books in Hebrew, including Sirach and Tobit [source]. Keep this in mind when reading the following apocryphal books. Martin Luther said, "Apocrypha--that is, books which are not regarded as equal to the holy Scriptures, and yet are profitable and good to read." So in other words, you won’t typically crack open your modern day Bible and see “The Book of Wisdom” in it, but you CAN (and are encouraged to) still read The Apocrypha at the above KJBO link above. In my opinion, The Bible itself is an entire book of wisdom we are to live our life by because He literally loves us enough to give us a manual to life itself on Earth. I know jokingly (especially as new parents) we say “We don’t have a manual for this!” but we do…we just have to realize it’s always there like God Himself and His love for us. Here’s the thing though…we can crack open our Bibles and gain KNOWLEDGE from it…but gaining WISDOM from it is different. I’ll end this paragraph with two verses from The Book of Wisdom 4:8-9, “8 For honourable age is not that which standeth in length of time, nor that which is measured by number of years. 9 But wisdom is the gray hair unto men, and an unspotted life is old age.”. Unspotted in that verse means moral, again I won’t argue here with you…if it’s not Biblical…it’s not moral…period. These verses stress that wisdom isn’t just a positive consequence of gaining knowledge or by aging…but rather it is also about experience.
Occasionally when I am led by Holy Spirit or spiritually feeling “blah”, I ask Holy Spirit to guide my mind, hands, and heart to open The Bible to a page that my spirit needs nourishment from. I will read the whole page and each time…and in my experience…the bread of life on that page is exactly what I needed. I often find myself at church services where the message happens to “slap” (oh yeah - I am using cool kid slang here) “juuuuust right” like Goldilocks and The 3 Bears. That is not a coincidence…and if there’s any piece of wisdom I can personally impart here on this Earth is that…there are no coincidences with God; the stories I have written about prove that (people lived those experiences)…but even more so…The Bible proves that (people lived those experiences). Before I leaned into a biblical lifestyle, and after my last near death experience, I was beginning to seek God but I didn’t rely on Holy Spirit yet (relying on Holy Spirit came in God’s perfect timing via life experiences and learning to faithfully trust Jesus to walk in His way) so I didn’t pray to be guided to pages in The Bible when I was led. Noncoincidentally enough, at that time…my Mom encouraged me to begin reading the bible and to start with the book of Proverbs…which I will now reveal if I haven’t already…is by far my favorite book in The Bible. Proverbs isn’t my favorite book in The Bible because my Mom told me to start there…though it does add sentimental meaning because of that…it’s my favorite book of the Bible because it affirms wisdom yet isn’t called “the book of wisdom”....it’s called Proverbs.
Like any blog that I write, I enjoy digging into definitions…so what does Proverbs mean and what does it mean to me personally when I read it? Initially, I got confirmation with the word “experience” through Merriam Webster's definition of Proverbs “an often stated observation regarding something from common experience”. Merriam Webster further breaks down the definition of Proverbs: “a brief popular epigram or maxim : adage.”.
Okay let’s go a little bit further…
1: a concise poem dealing pointedly and often satirically with a single thought or event and often ending with an ingenious turn of thought.
2: a terse, sage, or witty and often paradoxical saying.
3: epigrammatic expression.
1: a general truth, fundamental principle, or rule of conduct.
2: a proverbial saying.
1: a saying often in metaphorical form that typically embodies a common observation.
No coincidence the patterned numerical essential definitions under each one goes 3, 2, 1 (though there’s one more to be written about after I dig deeper with my personal definition of Proverb).
To me…when I personally read the word “Proverb”, without going to a dictionary…my mind breaks it down like this:
“Pro”:
Positive
For
Front
Affirming
Supporting
(FYI: These are all adjectives, adjectives describe nouns - people, places, things.)
“Verb”:
Action
Something Happening / Occurrence
State of Being.
(FYI: Almost every sentence has a verb - this means verbs are important!).
I’m going to apply some basic mathematical skills here by keeping the “Pros” first and applying them to the “Verbs” second…with multiplication…there’s 15 possible word combinations we can have here:
Positive Action, Positive Occurrence, Positive State of Being,
For Action, For Occurrence, For State of Being.
Front Action, Front Occurrence, Front State of Being.
Affirming Action, Affirming Occurrence, Affirming State of Being.
Supporting Action, Supporting Occurrence, Supporting State of Being.
All of these combinations track and each combination can also have different meaning in our minds even if they don’t make initial or grammatical sense. After typing these combinations out, Holy Spirit gave me, “Wisdom unlocks positive (good) forward movement (motion/action).” To me, this sounds a lot like God is FOR me, He gave me discernment, and it’s a solid reminder to also be aware of and rebuke stagnancy. I encourage you to keep these combinations in mind and ask Holy Spirit what nourishment your spirit can gain from them.
Last but not least for definitions….I am going back to the 3, 2, 1 statement I made above….non-coincidentally enough…near the end of Merriam Webster’s definition of Proverb (which is a noun by the way) they break it down into “Pro-Verb” (which is why I am keeping it separate from the 3, 2, 1 but notable because that’s where my mind went when I personally broke the word down without a dictionary. Merriam Webster breaks Pro-verb down as “a form of the verb do used to avoid repetition of a verb (such as do in "act as I do").” “Act as I do” stands out here because it is advice (a kind warning) through experience and concludes that the definition of Proverbs leads to wisdom. So even though the blatantly titled “Book of Wisdom” was removed from The Bible…if there was any book left in The Bible dedicated to wisdom to this day…it would be Proverbs. What did I need when my Mom told me to read Proverbs years ago…wisdom…and I got that. My Mom has a solid relationship with Holy Spirit, and I believe she encouraged me to read Proverbs not only for wisdom but in my heart I believe she was Holy Spirit led because there are 66 books in the Bible she could’ve encouraged me to read. I didn’t want to read my Bible at that time and I certainly hadn’t learned to be open to Holy Spirit like I am now so I didn’t understand the importance of reading my Bible or relying on Holy Spirit. Thankfully, my faith has deepened since that time in my life.
It’s not easy to always be open to Holy Spirit because often times…Holy Spirit tries to pry us out of comfort zones we don’t belong in. When my Mom initially told me to read Proverbs…I sat on that A LONG time. I am going to take myself back to the first blog post that I made on #Satisfied titled “#Satisfied” and quote myself, “Through the experiences I have had and continue to have, I gain wisdom and growth. Proverbs (all about Wisdom) was the first entire book that I had read in The Bible. My Mom (bless her heart-I love her LOL) was trying to get me to read it for YEARS before I actually read it; she’s amazing at being relentless in the best of ways. One random day, I finally ended up reading Proverbs so that the next time she asked me…I could surprise her. After reading it, I gushed to her about how I felt like I should have read it years ago when I was being encouraged by her to do so.” Why did I wait on reading the book of Proverbs for so long?! I know as well as anyone else that the enemy can indeed try to interfere with Holy Spirit’s guidance and wisdom and that’s precisely what was going on…reading Proverbs at that time was out of my comfort zone but eventually I came to the conclusion that I should submit to Holy Spirit and not be “the fool who despises wisdom”. Holy Spirit calls us to leave comfort zones that we are not meant to remain in because they can cause stagnation and IMO stagnation is a spiritual disease that can bleed over ecosystemically (spiritual, mental, emotional, physical). Stagnation is the opposite of motion (action). I am going to nerd out for a moment and bring up Isaac Newton’s Laws of Motion:
Inertia: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
Force: The acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied.
Action and Reaction: Whenever one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite on the first.
We may not be an “object" but we are beings in this world who have spirits and the laws of motion can also be spiritually applied as motion is the opposite of stagnation. We are not called to remain in “rest mode”. Inertia: Do we let the magnitude of Jesus’s sacrifice move us let alone move us forward? Spoiler alert…we should be living this way. Force: Was Jesus’s sacrifice forceful enough for you to repent and live a sanctified and biblically moral life? Spoiler alert…it should be. Why? Action and Reaction: Jesus’s sacrifice will never be equal to what we can give but that is proof that God loves us so much that He gave us His only son to defeat the world, our sin, our mistakes, our stagnation...JESUS IS WORTH LIVING IN ACTION AND REACTION FOR and it’s never too late to move forward. This week, see if Holy Spirit guides you to any revelations about the Laws of Motion correlated with spiritual stagnancy. The Laws of Motion are fun to think about spiritually but Proverbs Biblically helps combat stagnation through wisdom because God doesn’t call us to exist in lives of stagnancy and Zephaniah 1:12 (CSB) gives us insight to that, “And at that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps and punish those who settle down comfortably, who say to themselves: The Lord will do nothing—good or bad.”. The enemy wants us permanently stagnant in comfort zones because it deviates from God’s plan for Holy Spirit to give us the wisdom that allows us to grow, flourish, and LIVE (not just exist). Does having wisdom mean that we are perfect? LOL - NOPE! In order for there to be wisdom…someone…somewhere…experienced making a mistake or sinned. Making a mistake and sinning are not the same thing for the record but they both will have consequences. I like RC Sproul’s quote, “Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.” Yet, despite any past, present or future mistakes or sins…God loves us unconditionally; He wants our repented hearts loving Him back through direct relationship in “unspotted (moral) lives” provided to us by His only son Jesus Christ. With “morals” being subjective to the world we live in and the enemy manipulating the world, it is easy for the enemy to try to interfere with Holy Spirit’s guidance and wisdom.
So just how can the enemy try to interfere with wisdom? We go back to the “Stages of Attack”:
Stage 1: Confusion - I’m going to ask a question only because I know you already relate to it…have you ever had the inability to discern something or experience confusion discerning something? If not, I’d love to meet you and pick your brain!!! If not, perhaps you’re not being honest with yourself which lies in themselves are already forms of confusion. I also asked that question because I have had my fair share of confusion and complications with discernment which led to plenty of experiences where I was in seasons of character development that revealed God’s mercy and grace in an array of valley lows and mountain tops. You can’t have wisdom without discernment…the enemy wants to separate us from Holy Spirit which is why we NEED to FULLY rely on Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 (CSB) supports that we need Holy Spirit to guide us especially in our weaknesses and in the particular case I am writing about…lack of discernment which is a weakness, “In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with inexpressible groanings.” This is one of a ZILLION reasons why prayer is pivotal to faith…we MUST pray because sometimes we don’t even know what we need to pray for…and we can be open and honest and let Abba know, “Father, I don’t know what I need…I don’t even know what I want at times…I feel confused…but You…You are for me…You love me unconditionally…and You know what I need and what I desire. Please show me Your perfect mercy and your loving grace. Please reveal to me what Your plan is for me so I may grow, thrive, and flourish in Your Holy Name and in Your Holy son Jesus Christ’s way.” The more you pray and rely on God…the less confusing things get and the more open you are to gain wisdom from Holy Spirit. Open yourselves. Humble yourselves.
Stage 2: Chaos - As always, chaos is more than likely a physical repercussion of confusion. What does this mean for wisdom since that isn’t technically physical? When we make poor choices or unwise choices…there are consequences for them which can be physical. Consequences to our choices can range far and wide and I will go back to reference the Laws of Motion here:
Inertia: An object at rest remains at rest, and an object in motion remains in motion at constant speed and in a straight line unless acted on by an unbalanced force.
Force: The acceleration of an object depends on the mass of the object and the amount of force applied.
Action and Reaction: Whenever one object exerts a force on another object, the second object exerts an equal and opposite on the first.
The choices we make will always have positive or negative consequences (perspective depending - but God’s plan for us is the ultimate perspective) and the magnitude varies which is where the laws of motion could be applied. Our choices can be peaceful and loving or they can be confused and chaotic. Despite the choices we make, we are given mercy and grace. In times of mercy, we may feel like things aren’t fair but that’s where trust in God comes from. We don’t know all the missing pieces in the works and we aren’t meant to…just like in my personal testimony and the testimonies of others that I have written about where all the pieces to compose the story were in play without others or myself knowing about it were working because of God. Trusting God is essential to faith and relationship with Him. No trust…No love…instead…Know trust…Know love. Cry out to God when things don’t feel just…when motion feels like chaos. As I went back and re-read some of my early testimonial blogs, I read about the chaos in my life despite experiencing it firsthand and I can only see that I was saved from chaos and given wisdom and nourishment because Jesus defeated chaos. I deeply felt the truth of The Lord in my entire ecosystem…enough to give everything I imperfectly am for God’s kingdom. The chaotic way I was living did not produce healthy things that God wanted for my life…so I repented and now spend my time in His word and rely on His truth…I rely on Jesus’s way…and I rely on Holy Spirit to help steer me away from chaos. God’s word in 1 Corinthians 14:33 tells us, “For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.” Disorder = chaos. More reason to rely on God to save us from chaos…we can’t rely on our own plans alone because if we did…we would reap chaos…it’s not our way but Abba’s way that matters. So we must trust God and Proverbs 16:9 provides further insight, “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.” If we are not letting The Lord establish our steps…we are going to be stagnant in chaos. When in the midst of chaos, I pray that you remember James 1:5 (CSB), “ Now if any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly—and it will be given to him.” All you have to do is rise above the chaos and pray to an unconditionally loving Abba that created you in His image.
Stage 3: Theft - What if…you were given a gift that you really wanted AND needed and then someone decided, “Nah! I’m taking that gift back, homie! Byeee!” If you have experienced this…you know how it feels. If you haven’t…use your imagination and think about how you would feel. God GIVES US THE GIFT OF DISCERNMENT…which is also a special defense against the enemy!!! If we are walking with Holy Spirit…we don’t have to worry about that leaving us!!! We have been given the gift of discernment to move forward in free-will to hopefully make wise choices. Why does discernment matter? First of all, remember Merriam Webster's definition of Wisdom, “a: ability to discern inner qualities and relationships. Second, discernment matters for the same reason that wise choices matter…wise choices don’t rob (theft) us of opportunities to honor Abba while having the amazing opportunity to use the God given gift of discernment. Hebrews 5:14 (CSB) not only accentuates the difference between spiritual food and and physical food (which goes back to the ecosystem of spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional) but it boldly hits on discernment, “But solid food is for the mature—for those whose senses have been trained to distinguish between good and evil.” Discerning good and evil. Theft is from the enemy…evil. Theft in it itself is a poor choice (it’s not one of the 10 Commandments for no good reason) but like the different types of wisdom…there are different types of theft. Regarding wisdom, when we rely on Abba that motion rebukes the enemy’s attack to rob us of wisdom and saves us from making poor choices. When we don’t walk in Holy Spirit’s guidance…we open ourselves up to make poor choices over and over and over again with no repentance (Parenthesis Rabbit Hole: Albert Einstein said "The definition of insanity is -- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."). Insanity will always rob ourselves and others of wisdom and it’s not a part of God’s plan for us. 1 Peter 1:15-16 reminds us that we are called to be holy (not insane), “But as the one who called you is holy, you also are to be holy in all your conduct; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.”
Stage 4: Destroy - Poor choices are have the ability to destroy our lives even if there’s no immediate consequences. The enemy would like to see us destroyed. Conflict in the midst of a perpetual spiritual war is a prime way to try to breed destruction. The good news is…The Bible tells us that wisdom can help prevent conflict and warns us how even one person’s choices can destroy good in Ecclesiastes 9:18 (CSB), “Wisdom is better than weapons of war, but one sinner can destroy much good.”. Don’t give into the enemy’s attacks because he wants us all to make poor choices which will inevitably destroy good (the opposite of God’s plan for us). We know it is written in Isaiah 54:17 (CSB) “No weapon forged against you will prevail…”. This is why I usually say, “try” when referring to the enemy’s attacks because we already are equipped to combat them…we are already equipped to rebuke destruction so it’s imperative to know that Jesus already defeated any destruction the enemy could, can, or will cause. Proof of Jesus Christ winning the war was sealed with three words in John 19:28-30 when Jesus says, “It is finished.”. Jesus wasn’t just talking about his death. Resurrection power occurred in John 20:19-23 (CSB), “When it was evening on that first day of the week, the disciples were gathered together with the doors locked because they feared the Jews. Jesus came, stood among them, and said to them, “Peace be with you.” Having said this, he showed them his hands and his side. So the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, I also send you.” After saying this, he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Receiving Holy Spirit means to accept Holy Spirit…listen to Holy Spirit…be guided by Holy Spirit…part of Holy Spirit’s character is WISDOM AND PEACE…NOT destruction. This makes sense because God is love.
Stage 5: Kill - If you’re not walking with Holy Spirit…how are you LIVING (the opposite of kill/dead) let alone gaining wisdom? The Holy Spirit guides us to move like Jesus in our faith but we cannot do that if we are dead; ecosystemic death applies here and we read about this in James 2:14-26 (CSB) but for the sake of my point I will quote James 2:26 (CSB), “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also.”. If you’re not putting yourself in a position to be guided in wisdom (faith) AND MOVED (works) by Holy Spirit…I am going to leave you with two non-judgmental and thought provoking questions only you can answer…is your faith dead or ALIVE? (Great…now Bon Jovi’s Dead or Alive is stuck in my head because of that-which oddly enough lyrically elaborates on stagnancy - LOL!). In all seriousness, your faith should be backed up with faith meaning trust and works meaning movement. All of God’s children are here to trust God and make moves for God…otherwise it is stagnancy and stagnancy leads to death…aka Stage 5 Kill. Jesus tells us in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” More reason to rely on Holy Spirit, Jesus, and Abba when you need wisdom, because LIFE is the key word there. John 20:30-31 (CSB) goes on to beautifully emphasize life for us, “Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples that are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” It’s never too late to begin a new life in Jesus Christ, if you’re seeking Yahweh…He will meet you right where you are at in His perfect timing…all you have to do is surrender, repent, and obey…the rest is mapped out for you in His plan and that my friends…makes it so easy to live in Holy Spirit’s guidance filled with wisdom.
As always…here is the song of the series…but I am adding one this week (I just can’t help myself - I love music.). This song is an amazing worship song to combat the enemy with truth! <3
SO BE IT | Elevation Worship (feat. Tiffany Hudson & Chris Brown)
For wisdom, discernment, life, for Holy Spirit’s guidance, for Jesus’s way, for God’s unconditional love, for being able to pull spiritual nourishment from Newton’s Law of Motion, for no weapon prospering against me, and for Holy Spirit’s pulchritudinous revelation that I am always moving forward in God’s plan because “Wisdom unlocks positive (good) forward movement (motion/action)”...I am…
#Satisfied
