James 3:17 NLT
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
”But the wisdom from above is first of all pure.”
How do I know if the wisdom I am acting on is from above?
The first place I look at is who or what has to change based on what I am about to do? Me or something outside of me?
If the action that I am going to take is to impart my will on anything outside of me, it is not from above. Everything outside of me is in the hands of God.
”John, hold on, hold on! Does that mean that I am not to confront others or the injustice of this world?”
I am not suggesting that we do not engage those around us or the world around us; what I am suggesting is a change in the spirit that we do it.
Keeping in mind that God is in sovereign control of everything, when we come at this emotionally charged and full of passion, we may feel the urge to force our will and demand change that God will cause to happen in His timing, which is perfect.
”Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
When we force what we feel is right and just, I believe that this is outside of the will of God, and there is trouble there.
This wisdom is ”peace loving.” It looks at a problem together, from the same side. It looks at the problem through the lens of the Bible. But it also looks to the only source of permanent change to the problem, and that is through the power of Jesus Christ.
This wisdom is ”gentle.” This wisdom is not about extreme and forceful change. We may exercise our will on a situation and problem even to the point of thinking it is by God only to be confounded when the problem comes back multiplied.
If the change isn’t done by God’s hand and will, the change will only be temporary and will come back exasperated, more significant than before.
This wisdom is ”willing to yield to others.”
What does that mean? What that person is doing is wrong, period. And they need to know about it!
Yikes!!
That doesn’t seem to come out of a yielded spirit. The question here is, do we have the patience to let God work while gently and with love, continuing to point others back to scripture over and over again until God executes His Will on the situation.
”A person convinced against their will is of the same opinion still.” I don’t know who said this, but it is dripping with biblical wisdom.
God is at work, doing the softening of the heart ❤️, He knows when it’s the right time to ”set the hook” for you fishermen of souls.
Our job is to apply His Word on our lives to the point that it is undeniable even by our staunchest critic and enemy. We will never be perfect until Jesus takes us, but we can conduct our lives in a manner that is above reproach, humbly submitted to God’s will.
Can we wait for God to work?
This wisdom is ”full of mercy” and ”the fruit of good deeds”.
It appears that wisdom doesn’t demand it’s own way and operates with mercy.
And we receive this wisdom as a by product of ”good deeds”.
Matthew 5:43-44 NLT
”You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Loving our enemies is a ”good deed” that provides us with Godly wisdom.
This wisdom shows ”no favoritism” and is ”always sincere”.
We don’t pick or choose who we do good deeds for. Furthermore, we don’t grudgingly do these good deeds.
We pass forward the grace and mercy onto everyone the same way God does to us.
Every breathe we take is by God’s grace and mercy.
God never gives up, but He never forces Himself on us; he is looking and waiting for the willing submitted heart, the same thing we should be looking for in others.
And His Spirit will prompt us to action when the time is right and provide us with the courage and strength to do what we need to do and when we need to do it with our heart submitted to Him.
When the call comes in, our spirit and heart posture should be ready with a response of ”Here I am”.
Heavenly Father, thank You for the opportunity to serve You. To be a part of Your redemption story.
I pray that You provide me with gentle nature that attracts those around me to Your saving grace and mercy.
Let my actions be a picture of a life submitted to Your will.
Give me the confidence and willingness to wait for Your timing while realizing that everything done in Your time will result in the victory that You desire.
In the living name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏🏻❤️
