Fear of the Lord — that is Wisdom

“But it is the spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty, that gives them understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.”

Job 32:8

As much as we seek to be wise, as old as we grow….Wisdom can only be found in the Lord.

In Job 31, Job stops defending himself. All of his friends have nothing more to say either. Silence and Stillness should have fallen around them, but this young stallion of a man, Elihu, had been listening to the whole discussion and couldn’t wait to have his say. One thing he gets right is that wisdom is not only found in the aged, wisdom can be given to any that ask the Lord.

“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

But Elihu misses the mark when he begins his discord by stating….

“For I am full of words, and the spirit within me compels me;”

Job 32:18

This is his youth, this is him showing his immaturity. The young can be wise, but they, like those advanced in age, can be foolish as well.

God says, “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19 and “The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even tempered.” Proverbs 17:27

It is the Lord that gives wisdom and takes it away. It is fear of Him that will lead us to find the well of it. Thankfully, Job knew this well, “And he said to the human race, “The fear of the Lord — that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.” Job 28:28

We can’t find wisdom in age, we can’t find it in books, but we can find it in following the ways of God. Fear of the Lord means we are living in adoration of Him, acknowledging His Sovereignty, and following Him faithfully. That is where and when we will find wisdom.

I am by no means fully wise, and I by no means don’t still act foolish, but if you knew me back when, I’ve changed a TON. Back when I loved the Lord but wasn’t following Him fully, back when I was young (ummm….I mean younger) I always had something to say and I said it. (My poor teachers!) There are more times than I would like to count that I said things I wish I could take back, but like toothpaste, once I squeezed it out, it wasn’t going back in that tube.

There are people I know today that think I’m shy and don’t talk….I know! Shocking!! But really, when I started following after God I realized I didn’t need to speak as much as I needed to listen. I realized there were appropriate times to be funny and appropriate times to hold my tongue. (I still slip up on the funny, I can’t help it, I love to laugh…..I’m a work in progress.)

But most of all I fear the Lord and want to be pleasing in His eyes, so I hold my tongue when I can, I try with all my might to take my thoughts captive, and I weigh what I say against Philippians 4:9: whatever is true, honoring, just, pure, lovely, and commendable.

I don’t want to speak out of turn, I want to turn others to Jesus. If that means I need to hold onto my thoughts and not let them slip out of my mouth, I will be wise and do just that.

It doesn’t matter your age, it doesn’t matter your intelligence; if you want wisdom, you must first Fear the Lord.