“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God” (Colossians 1:9-10, ESV).
These two verses are jam-packed with spiritual treasure! I could never do them justice in the space that I have set aside for this blog, but I want to make a few connections that I believe will help you and I both to see God’s will for our lives a little more clearly.
It’s been a long time since I’ve diagramed a sentence. I’ve avoided that task since my junior year of high school (and the only “F” I ever got on an exam!). So I won’t disguise the fact that this is not one of my strengths. But I believe my Neanderthal-like effort will still make my point.
Paul starts off by telling the Colossians that he has been in constant prayer for them. Then he gives them some direction by way of his description of his prayers.
- He prays that they will be filled with the knowledge of [God’s] will.
- He specifies how God’s will finds its completion: spiritual wisdom and understanding.
—I’d like to point out that his prayer wasn’t that they find God’s will for their careers or their sharing of the Gospel with others. I believe this is because when they have spiritual wisdom and understanding, they will have the tools they need to find the answer to the other questions.
- The result of #2 is that they will walk worthy of the Lord. Spiritual wisdom finds its manifestation in our physical, earthly lives!
- How do we know that we are walking worthy of the Lord? We bear fruit in every good work and we increase in the knowledge of God.
We’ve been looking at wisdom this week. Knowledge is important, but wisdom gives knowledge legs and feet. Wisdom really is a foundational element for living out God’s will.
How many times have you asked the question, “what is God’s will for my life?” I think that we would be better off praying that God would give us the wisdom to recognize His will when it came around. That is, that we would be fruitful in the world, and that we would be watchful to see what God is doing around us and join Him in His work.
Blessings on your day! Tomorrow I’ll try to pull everything from this week together and hopefully provide a little more clarity about wisdom.
Each week, Skipping Stones looks at a new topic or scripture with the purpose of growing in discipleship. Monday through Thursday the posts are shorter and provide a thought or two for you to mindfully consider as you go through the day. On Fridays I offer a longer post that looks at the subject of the week with a little more detail; and you have all weekend to read and reflect on your own walk with Christ!
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