It has been said that all roads lead to the palace of wisdom. This may be true ... but nobody has ever finished walking the path. One might say that Jesus started there, and the rest of us make our meandering ways trying to get there. One might even say that Solomon was given a road map to there, as well as the keys to the palace. Unfortunately, Solomon also decided he liked the environments surrounding the palace more than the palace itself and eventually chose not to dwell there. I have not heard that God gave those keys to any other human.
Another approach to wisdom it to evaluate what associates itself with wisdom. In so doing, by having more of those things, wisdom itself will be more likely to be present. From scripture, it seems that wisdom is not understanding itself, but is often paired up with it. This suggests that wisdom is the knowledge upon which understand is built. In other words, wisdom might be defined as the right knowing of something. This complements the understanding nicely - you might know what you are supposed to do but never discern why.
Because wisdom concerns itself more with the realities of God's will for your life, even a cursory look at where wisdom shows up will be rewarding. We might concern ourselves with how one might acquire wisdom. Scripture reveals the simplest manner of acquiring wisdom is to petition God for it. There are other ways, to be certain, but the simplest and most direct way to gain wisdom is to ask God. Clearly, this does not mean you will be given the information in your own time - but it gives you an explicit application of the relationship with Jesus and a means by which He can be glorified!
Another approach is found in Philippians chapter four. In this chapter, we are given a list of components to edifying thought-life. The list offers constructive boundaries for determining whether your own thought-life is aligned with God's intent for your thought-life and offers a simple means of gauging often your own thoughts are leading you away from God.
[Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.]
I posit that, although these components are not an explicit means of obtaining and being guided by wisdom, your actions will likely reflect wisdom by dwelling on these things. Add in a few gallons of steady prayer and your life will never be the same!
Call to action
Listen to your thoughts
Today, keep a journal with you. Write down whatever pops in your head, particularly anything upon which you spend more than a moment.
Pray about your thoughts
Ask God to reveal to you which of your daily jottings correspond to which of the points from the fourth chapter of Philippians. Also, ask him for guidance in the areas revealed by those thoughts that have little or no association with the points from the fourth chapter of Philippians.
Offer your thoughts
There will be a point, if you ever consider your thoughts in this manner again, that you will realize that God's plan for even your thought-life is better than your own. In that moment, please consider offering every thought to God. Know that each of us could be more aligned with God's plan for our lives if we would keep every thought captive. A way to do this is to gauge their worth and value by the standard offered in Philippians.
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