There is no quick or easy way to gain the wisdom of the Lord. But there is a road that you can travel that leads to His knowledge, insight, wisdom, and even future blessings. God has mapped out a path for you if you are willing to follow. If you desire His reward, be faithful to Him and follow His path to life. If you do, you will not regret it.
And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide Himself any more, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:20-21
God does not want you to desire the things of this world, such as power, influence, or the many trinkets of this age. These things tend to destroy people and pull them away from the path God has designed just for them. But suppose you do seek these worldly desires. In that case, they only cause you to increase pride, arrogance, selfishness, and many other evil behaviors that overcome a person. If you seek to follow your own path without God’s correction, you will lack the one thing required to honor God: love.
Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up. If anyone imagines that he knows something, he does not yet know as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, he is known by God. 1 Corinthians 8:1-3
You may not know that God’s path to life is rough. Yet the devil hates those who want to follow it and will try to do everything he can to turn you in the wrong direction, causing all kinds of pain, struggle, and difficulties. Indeed, affliction comes from the devil, but God uses them for your good.
But praise God, He is way ahead of the devil’s evil plans. God will always cause the devil’s plans to backfire, and for the faithful follower of Jesus Christ, his schemes will cause you to grow ever stronger and bolder to do as the Lord will. Remember, when things get painfully challenging, follow God’s path, and be assured God is with you and will keep you on the right track.
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones.” Thus, he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Genesis 50:20-21
So, what is this path to life? It is the opposite of how the world operates. God desires that you walk in righteousness, goodness, faithfulness, and humility. God commands you to evaluate what you have done in the past and look in the mirror of His Law, the Ten Commandments, to see what kind of a person you are. For example, when you lie, cheat, hate, steal, lust, covet, disrespect, blasphem, curse, and envy, God sees you as a lawbreaker and will punish those who act this way.
Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 6:9-10
But humility is God’s way to life. Righteousness is the way to honor Him. Repentance through faith in Jesus Christ is the way to salvation. Forgiveness comes through the blood sacrifice, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which is how to become forgiven and restored for your debt of sin.
To walk God’s path of life takes a lifetime of commitment to Jesus Christ. To do as He desires, you must follow and obey, repent daily, endure struggle and trials, live and learn, and go where He commands. It is not a quick fix. It is not like stepping onto Easy Street and arriving at the place of blessing after a minute of walking that path.
Those who are blessed immediately with the things of this world have been tricked by the devil. Those quickly elevated to prosperity have not received it from God but from the devil because reward without testing is not how God operates. Indeed, the devil has handicapped the person looking for earthly glory. God’s will for you is that through humility and the fire of afflictions, He may refine you as gold so that you may be more like Him.
Think about it, and it will make sense. If you have all the wealth you need to survive without worry, why would you turn to God for help? Why would you humble yourself and put everything in His hands? But those who struggle with nothing humble themselves to sacrifice everything for Him, even willing to die. They will be the ones in the proper position to receive all the Lord has planned for them.
Through hardship, sacrifice, testing, and trials, God refines His humble servants to be so much more than they could ever be. He gives them supernatural abilities to give instead of steal, obey instead of rebel, honor others instead of disrespect, forgive instead of retaliate, and love instead of hate.
So please consider the path you have chosen. Follow the ways of the Lord so that after a lifetime of faithfulness to Jesus Christ, He may bless you and call you His good and faithful servant. Walk in the Spirit of the Lord, receive His gifts, and build up treasure in Heaven that no one can take away.
Jesus said, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
