day 445: Wise Beyond Their Years...

Wisdom comes from lots of experiences all bundled together into a collection that can be drawn from for better decision making, better stories and better advice and counsel. But sometimes we run into people who seem like they were born with an old soul and we will say that they are "wise beyond their years". It is like these people at a very young age were dipped into a vat of wisdom and are covered with it in a way that makes others want to seek out their counsel and their words of wisdom. These are the people who have a different perspective on things and who seem to be able to see around the corner when it comes to what should be done next. In many ways, it appears that these people have been given a gift of wisdom. And from this, these people become admired, respected and in most cases end up being leaders in some capacity. We are impressed by these people. We may also sometimes find ourselves a little on the envious side too. So, other than draw from these people what else can we do to become more like them? It is a good question to ask ourselves as we spend our time in our jobs and as we learn and grow from one experience to another. Naturally, if we are continually learning and growing we will gain wisdom throughout the years but we read in God's Word that the foundation of wisdom is having a certain amount of fear as it relates to God. In Proverbs we read; "Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment." Fear of the Lord is the foundation of wisdom. It's a hard concept to grasp but it makes sense. If we are fearful of the Lord then it means that we are constantly seeking what it is that we are to do and not to do in order to please Him. If we are fearful, we will not want to let Him down or have Him disappointed in us. We want to know more and want to be more and more like Him with each passing day. This may well be why in the Bible we saw so many young people who because of their fear and respect of God were made wise beyond their years and ended up leading at such young ages. Think Moses, Joseph, David, etc. Each were wise beyond their years and each were deep into their relationship and love of God. And yes, they each had a healthy fear of God. Today, as we try and develop ourselves and become better in our jobs and life, we can learn from this lesson by deepening our relationship with God so that we can learn more and become more wise in who He wants us to be.

Reference: Proverbs 9:10 (New Living Testament)