Wisest Above All

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.   As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
    and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish.  1 Corinthians 1:18-20

I am sure many of you have seen the long debates of this season.  No, I’m not talking about the Presidential candidates.  I’m talking about the real ones.  The one’s that require long thought and lots of back and forth dialogue.  Yes, I’m talking about the infamous Facebook debates!  At first, I would let it bother me particularly when something was posted that was heavily untrue or hurtful.  Then literally after thousand word essays and numerous replies that would have made for a miniseries, I decided to step back, and reflect.  I realized it was more important to understand and appreciate the opposing views, and then share my view not with the intention to win over.  Instead, it was to say while we may be divided on key views, we are united by one God.  Somehow, that has been totally forgotten in today’s discourse.  You see, it is perfectly fine to have a healthy and hearty debate, but to do so, you must have God at the center of your thoughts.  Will it mean you will eventually agree?  No.    So what’s the point?  First, realize that our love for God will not allow for us to ever be divided.  Furthermore, love for each other means we albeit separated by philosophy are together in Christ.  Thus if we focus on that which is most important in God’s eyes, our debates no matter how heated will always bring us to the same conclusion; God is in control no matter what and He knows more than we do.

When you trust in God, you grow beyond the wisdom of your own understanding.  Whenever people would debate me on if God is real noting the empirical evidence against that fact, I simply stated that while all you say may be true, I have had things happen in my life that underlined God’s existence beyond any doubt.  I feel His presence, and He has made a way for my life when there was not a way.  Through this, He has opened my eyes to know that our color, politics, gender, and even culture make us different, but our God makes us the same.  While they may not agree with this, they appreciate it because it does not attack their belief.  It merely points out the truth in mine (aka telling them what I’m for and not what I’m against).  We can display the wisdom of our faith that allows us to deal with many disputes.  So it is possible to kneel for injustice and still love your country.  We can disagree on principle but learn to come together for the sake of our future.  A man can be a head of a household and treat his woman like a queen on a royal thrown.  We can be from different parts of the world, but we can freely worship an awesome God right here and now.

Trusting in God’s wisdom always leads to the best outcome.  Someone wrote me about a prior devotion focusing on the topic of what I want versus what God wants.  If we are focusing on what we want and do not get it, we will never find contentment.  However if we focus on what God wants, we fully trust in Him, and even if our outcome does not work the way we would like, we will always be at peace.  Remember God understands.  How much trust do you place in an all knowing God?  How can you focus on the wisdom God has given you versus on what you feel you do not have?  My prayer is that we open our minds to God’s ways knowing He is wisest above all.  Amen.