Real power begins in asking

True wisdom and real power belong to God; from him we learn how to live, and also what to live for. (Job 12:13 MSG) How to live and what to live for - these are two frequently sought after things, aren't they? We want to know the ins and outs of living well - 'making it' as society would refer to it. We also want to know what to avoid - so we don't fall into mishaps. We seek advice from one source after another, often neglecting the source that is right there in front of us - God's Word. We neglect time in prayer because we think it is too hard to know what to pray or that there must be some 'secret formula' that gets God to listen to our prayers. All the while, God stands at the ready to show us both how to live and what to live for - we just haven't looked to the right source, or listened to his wisdom in what to choose when presented with various choices.

Wherever did we get the idea that we could figure life out on our own? That is an out and out lie from the enemy of our souls. We don't really know how far off course we were in our choices until we see just how far those choices carry us into things we wish we were never experiencing now. Does God want to keep us in the dark as to how to live on this earth? Not at all, he just has a whole lot of earthly voices to compete with! There is no greater privilege than to lay one's soul bare before a holy God and then wait for him to show us what to do with our lives. We cannot really understand the value of one word from God at the right time until we have experienced the sense of peace that his wisdom produces. 

Learning what to value and what we can determine to be of little value in this world is harder than one might think, especially when we are trying to sort that out in our own wisdom. We need God's wisdom to show us what has TRUE value - not just what this world taunts as being 'important'. If we listened to what this world tells us is important, constantly going after whatever is important in society's opinion, we'd be all over the board in our beliefs and actions! We need 'centered' beliefs and 'grounded' actions. The only place we will find either of these is in the presence of God - listening intently to the wisdom he brings and the purpose he gives to our lives.

True wisdom and real power - we desire both, don't we? We don't want to be duped into believing what won't really satisfy us, do we? We don't think just because we bear the name 'Christian' that this world's loudest voices won't still try to influence our actions, do we? I am a little reluctant to tell you this, but bearing the name 'Christian' might actually make us the target of this world's loudest voices! Why? Because Satan wants nothing more than to keep us from knowing real power in our lives. He is afraid of God's power - the very power that is inside of each of us who have made Christ the center of our lives. We might not think we stand for much, but when the wisdom we live by is HIS wisdom, we stand for way more than Satan and his legions of demons can stand against. Real power isn't 'happened upon' - it is purposefully sought. Just sayin!