Happy New Year and Welcome to 2025.
So I was hosting my sister on New Year's Day and amidst the festivities and food, we started talking about the need to make changes in the New Year, especially in our individual services. She is a Physotherapist and I am Coach.
Then she mentioned the scripture in Proverbs 23:23
Buy the truth and do not sell it— wisdom, instruction and insight as well.
When I read the scripture, It resonated powerfully with me, and since then I have been meditating on it to seek clarity as to why it ministered to me.
You see when God takes us through our life's tests and trials, it is so that we can learn and pass it on to others. Psalm 51 :13-14 says
Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.
We can only teach transgressors the ways of God when we have submitted ourselves to God through what He wants to teach us and to allow Him create in us a clean heart, when we have been through the process and acknowledge our own sin and want to be right with God, then we can teach others and reconcile sinners back to God. The process we go through to transform others positively is WISDOM.
The Bible says that wisdom is a gift from God that comes from the Holy Spirit. It's a capacity of the mind that allows us to understand life from God's perspective. Here are some Bible verses about wisdom:
* James 1:5
"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him".
* Proverbs 3:5–6
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding".
* Proverbs 16:16
"How much better to get wisdom than gold, to get insight rather than silver!".
* James 3:17
"But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere".
* Psalm 37:30
"The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice".
* Proverbs 29:11
"A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back"
Yes Wisdom is a gift of God that comes from the Holy Spirit, but it is acquired through the trials and tests of life God orchestrates for us to go through, when we submit and complete the process He has put us through, we obtain His Wisdom, the Wisdom that transforms others. This is not wisdom from the world, there is a great distinction between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom, the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God 1 Corinthians 3:19. I truly believe the worldly wisdom is very simple, it panders after the foolish hearted, it's prideful and doesn't provide lasting or eternal solutions and that is why the world doesn't change through it.
Proverbs tells us a wise woman builds her house and a foolish woman tears her house down, it descibes a foolish man whose money is wasted on a harlot and finaly when Solomon became king of Israel, the Lord asked him what would he like as a gift and he responded by asking for Wisdom to judge the people fairly. Not only did God grant him Wisdom, but gave him wealth alongside it. We can see that godly Wisdom truly transforms lives and without, poverty is inevitable.
Going back to Proverbs 23:23 we are instructed never to compromise this Wisdom that comes forth from God's school of trials, it is an extremely rare quality. This scripture emphasizes the supreme value of truth, wisdom and understanding, urging the reader to cherish and hold onto them at all costs.
The phrase "buy the truth and do not sell it", suggests that truth and wisdom are so precious that they should be pursued, even if you have to pay for it then do it, pursue and protect it as one would pursue something of great worth. It implies that these qualities are foundational to a righteous and fulfilling life and that they should not be exchanged or compromised for anything else, whether it be wealth, convenience, or worldly gain.
The verse also highlights the importance of wisdom, instruction and insight, which are seen as essential tools for living rightly. The instruction is not just intellectual knoweldge but also moral and spiritual guidance. The idea is that once you acquire these virtues, you must prioritise them over everything else. When one invests and operates in this kind of Wisdom the quality of life is evident.
I pray the Kingdom will understand that ministering the gospel does not deny us the opportuity to charge for the Wisdom God has emdowed in usjust because we minister the gospel, we cannot charge for the wisdom God has esteemed in us to help others. The lack of investing in this wisdom can keep us stuck in a rut because the mindset hasn't reached that level of investment.
Get Wisdom, get understanding , forget it not, neither decline from the words of my mouth; forsake her not and she shall preserve you. Love her and she shall keep you. Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore get wisdom and with all your getting, get understanding Proverbs 4:5-9.
Next time you come across someone who would like to pour wisdom into you, don't take them or the virtue for grante
When someone offers to provide you with Wisdom to deal with a situation in your life, quickly invest in it, they have been somewhere sacrifically to bring it back to you so you don't have to go that far to breaking through.
Jacqueline Ani is a marriage restoration coach, prophetic mentor/midwife, transformational leader and social entrepreneur. To find out more please go to www.jacquelineaniinternational.org
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