Finding wisdom and turning from evil
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"But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?" —Job 28:12
"Where then does wisdom come from, and where is understanding located?" —Job 28:20
"But God understands the way to wisdom, and he knows its location." —Job 28:23
He said to mankind, "The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding." —Job 28:28
In the year we were married, a movie entitled Desperately Seeking Susan came out. I haven't seen it yet. This is not due as much to procrastination as benign disinterest being a more powerful motive than tepid curiosity. The movie's title has always intrigued me. What am I desperately seeking? What are others desperately seeking?
Job was desperately seeking God. He wanted to know what God was up to and why it felt like God was punishing him for no reason. He was sorting out his emotions from what he knew to be true and couldn't help being confused by the mismatch of expectation and experience.
His friends didn't help. They offered easy answers to complex problems. They spoke general truths that missed the mark of Job's particular reality. They were smart, wise, and wrong. They weren't listening, really listening.
This led Job to ask twice in this chapter, "But where can wisdom be found, and where is understanding located?"
There is a deeper wisdom, a broader understanding they all required in this moment; when everything they thought they knew to be true was not working out the way it should. Job sought deeper wisdom. He longed for broader understanding. This describes us sometimes as well, doesn't it?
Thankfully, Job shows us the way we should go. We find it in his bottom line in this chapter. He says, "The fear of the Lord—that is wisdom. And to turn from evil is understanding."
Deep reverence for God is the starting point of our search.Walk with him along his pathway far away from the snares of the evil one. Walk with him on the road that leads to overflowing joy and endless goodness.
The key for unlocking the mysteries of the universe is found in these words that are repeated and restated throughout the pages of the Bible. See God for who He is. Lean into the life He prescribes. Even when we cannot see where He is leading us, we know we can trust Him to see what we cannot, to know what we do not, and to desire more goodness for us than we could want for ourselves.
In his agony, Job saw more clearly than his unhindered companions could yet perceive. Maybe that's part of the reason bad things happen to good people. They empower us to see realities otherwise hidden.
 | David Bowman, (DMin, PCC) is the Executive Director of Tarrant Baptist Association in Fort Worth, Texas. He also serves as a Multiplying Trainer for Future Church Co. Learn More » |
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