Thursday, January 11, 2007

Appropriate Wisdom

It's one of the most common themes in Scripture, but it bears repeating: God is full of wisdom ... He IS wisdom. What I love most, though, is that His wisdom is appropriate for every situation.

Isa. 28:23-29: Give ear, and hear my voice; give attention, and hear my speech. Does he who plows for sowing plow continually? Does he continually open and harrow his ground? When he has leveled its surface,does he not scatter dill, sow cumin,and put in wheat in rowsand barley in its proper place,and emmer as the border? For he is rightly instructed; his God teaches him. Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin,but dill is beaten out with a stick,and cumin with a rod. Does one crush grain for bread?No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it. This also comes from the Lord of hosts; he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom.

Our human limitations want us to make a 'one-size-fits-all' rule for something ... especially we Americans love to standardize! But look at the examples God gives ... the farmer doesn't harvest every crop the same. It is no accident that God chose this analogy for His wisdom.

God gives wisdom to handle each situation appropriately - whether plowing, sowing, or harvesting. Trust Him to grant wisdom in your ministry. If it doesn't look like it did the last time, or like that of others you know - test it against Scripture and if it is not unscriptural, consider that God, who sees and knows all, understands the intricacies of your situation and tailors His wisdom appropriately.

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