“For he who finds me finds life and obtains favor from the Lord.”
I have never yet met a person whose inner - most want in life was to be a fool – a person who so miscalculates every facet of life that their existence becomes a personal disaster. I don’t know any one who wants that. It’s the opposite that is sought after by everybody. Even when people do end up on the ‘scrap heap’ of life through bad decisions, wrong choices and even circumstances out of their own control, it is still not what they want.
God has inbuilt in each of us a cognitive action called hope. Hope is what makes human beings tick, survive and pursue their goals and keep on living. When a person looses all hope in life, severe depression and suicide are often the outcome. But having a hope that is described in today’s terms as ‘living your dream’ or plunging to a ‘no hope’ situation, is a false hope. The reason for this dilemma is that one’s ‘hope’ is not guided by true wisdom but is set in a false direction by our sinful nature.
Wisdom from our creator God who has ‘hard wired’ us with a capacity to hope, must be the wisdom we need to set our hope in the right direction!
Job could still say, despite his dire predicament, “Though He [God] slay me, I will hope in Him…” Job 13:15. His hope in God was fixed and it was directed by God’s wisdom being allowed to permeate his decision-making process and his entire world view.
So where do we start to gain this divine wisdom so that our hope is not misguided in life but is set in the present to lock in a favorable outcome? James says in ch 1:5 “…if any of you lacks wisdom, let his ask of God, who gives to all generously….” So there you have it! Simple! Here’s a practical summary of how you might ask for God’s wisdom in your life in order to hope right. Bill Thrasher suggests -
1. Seeing life from God’s point of view.
2. Ability to select the best goals for one’s life and the best means to achieve them.
3. Skill of living life before God.