21 In Twenty-One Devotional

Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
Psalm 90:12

6 Don’t turn your back on wisdom, for she will protect you.
    Love her, and she will guard you.
7 Getting wisdom is the wisest thing you can do!
    And whatever else you do, develop good judgment.
Proverbs 4:6-7

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure;
then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy
and good fruit, impartial and sincere.
James 3:17

Hey everybody! Hope you are all doing great on day four of your fast. I'm sure the day has been hard, but I bet some of you are seeing and feeling the good of this fast. Maybe your perspective is shifting some today.

Today's Prayer focus is "Wisdom". I know this word can make us feel intimidated at times. I sure have days when I don't feel like I have much wisdom at all. The bible talks so much about wisdom. There are so many verses in Proverbs about wisdom. Solomon was a wise man. That was his one request from God, wisdom. Now, Solomon's dad(David) challenged him to gain wisdom and insight. David knew from experience how important wisdom was.

Some of us set goals and work hard to reach them. We do whatever we can to  make a lot of money, we search hard for happiness. All these objectives fade in comparison to the value of acquiring wisdom and insight. Nothing in life is as valuable as the wisdom to know and do God's will and to understand how to respond correctly to obstacles and opportunities. Just like right now, instead of pursuing our desire for food, we are pursuing wisdom and understanding.

In Psalms 90:12, it tells us to number our days. Let's take the days we've been given and pursue the wisdom that only God can provide. You may be asking, how do we gain wisdom from God? What does that mean? This 21 day fast is such a good time to really go after this.  Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” Fear means different things in the bible. It can mean a frightening type fear, a respect for God, or Fear  can also be the reverence or awe a person feels in the presence of greatness. The fear of the Lord is a combination of all of these. Those who fear the Lord have a continual awareness of Him, a deep reverence for Him, and sincere commitment to obey Him.

It also says we can ask for wisdom:

If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives
generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.
James 1:5

In James 3:17, it gives the characteristics of wisdom. Impartial, Submissive, peace-loving, considerate, full of mercy, good fruit, and sincere. These are qualities of a wise person. Practicing these things along with asking faithfully for wisdom will not only provide you with wisdom, but also give you insight into God's will for you and will help keep you from making the same mistakes over and over. That's why wisdom is so important. It keeps us pursuing God and not our own motives.

Prayer: Lord, I pray for wisdom. I pray that you would show me how I can know more of you and what you want to do through me. I pray that I will live knowing my days are numbered and that I will use that time to get to know you more.

Don't Stop There: As you are fasting, praying, and reading the bible today, seek wisdom in it. Ask God to give you fresh insight today. Use these twenty-one days to get to know him more and to gain heavenly wisdom. I hope all of you have a great day. The best is yet to come.

Love you guys,
Pastor Josh