The Beginning of Wisdom

“As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything.” Ecclesiastes 11:5

Man, God is the coolest sometimes…no…All. The.Time. I’m reminding myself because I tend to forget. Often, the big and the small problems or distractions of this life seem so big that I forget how big (B.I.G. in the words of Forrest Frank) our God is. How absolutely mysterious God is.

I am thankful for those times when I have had to lean on God for everything because I absolutely didn’t know all the information. Years ago, when my husband was deployed overseas and we were separated for long periods of time, it was an immense comfort to know that even though I couldn’t be in the room with him, the Lord, who is unbound by time or physical boundaries, could be there at that precise moment. I could look up in the sky and know that God knew exactly what was happening even when I didn’t. It made the distance feel smaller somehow. It calmed my anxious fears.

Most recently, it is a huge comfort that the Lord knows all the details of my children that I am not fully aware of. Both of my favorite humans are adopted, and there is a lot I don’t know about their origins. Most of the time it doesn’t matter. But sometimes, it’s information that I need but don’t have. It’s at those times, I marvel at the fact that God knows. God knows all the details of their lives and is writing a story that is incredible. The words on the page that I do have don’t do justice to what He actually sees in them. I’m sure you feel the same way about your children too. Even if you don’t have children, we all come to the end of ourselves at some point and are humbled by what we don’t know. I think those times are a gift if they point us toward dependency on the Lord.    

I think that is why this scripture is important to remember. A lot of us, including myself, spend a lot of mental energy trying to figure God out, as if we could do such a thing. We want to know where God is at work and this is good for sure. However, sometimes it can be a hindrance if we don’t remember that we’re human, and God is God. There are many things only He knows. Trusting in Him at those times, I believe, opens a reservoir of strength that we would forfeit had we not chosen to rest in His sovereignty and goodness.

Solomon goes on to say “In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good.” Ecclesiastes 11:6

Sometimes, I can get so overwhelmed when I don’t know what to do or when everything seems to be hitting me all at once and there doesn’t seem to be a clear path forward. I can get plagued by decision fatigue and just not want to do anything. But I think the simple truth is that there are a lot of things I try to control that are not mine to control. Giving up that sense of control is not “throwing my hands up” and giving up, it is actually liberating my mind to focus on what I can control.

Sometimes, we're not going to know ten steps ahead, but God might be giving us an opportunity to take one step and focus on one thing he is placing in our path right now. Knowledge can sometimes get in the way. It sometimes puffs us up and takes us away from a dependence on the Lord. Yes, knowledge is good, but ultimately, it’s the Lord who breathed the world into creation. It’s the Lord who creates life in the womb when it makes no sense. It’s the Lord who creates and determines the wind. It’s the Lord who determines our steps. I’ve heard it said that wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge.

“I perceived that whatever God does endures forever; nothing can be added to it, nor anything taken from it. God has done it, so that people fear before him.” Ecclesiastes 3:14

“The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13

Solomon spent his life searching for God in all the wrong places. Yet, God used him through his imperfect life to point him to life’s real purpose. The only source of life.

“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.”

Proverbs 14:27

“In the fear of the Lord, one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.”

Proverbs 14:26

I seem to fear all the wrong things, but this type of fear leads to life. This type of fear leads to confidence. True confidence. Confidence that rubs off on your children. This type of fear can be described as reverence for a holy God. Honoring the Lord who loves you and wants the best for you. Giving Him obedience when it’s hard because his way really is better.   

“But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy.”

Isaiah 8:13

“But to this one I will look to him who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word.” Isaiah 66:2

I'm thankful to the Lord that even when we don’t know which direction to go, we can look to his word for guidance. I pray that whatever season of life you are in you may rest in the knowledge that God sees the bigger picture and that he is more loving and good than we can imagine. That he is about life, not death. That even when we can’t see the way forward, God is still at work. So, because of this, we can move forward, trusting God can move us where we need to go.