The Need for Wisdom
A spiritual comment and prayer to start the day with the Rev Lesley Ann Wilson.
Good morning. One summer, I enjoyed a wonderful holiday camping in France. I came back to work feeling refreshed but within a couple of weeks I was completely stressed. It was as if I had never had a holiday. A serious situation that had been rumbling in the background before I went away was now much worse. I hadn’t noticed it was taking a toll on my mental health and now my resilience was low. I was dreading going into the office. It didn’t feel like I had many options. I could have thrown the head up and resigned but I couldn’t afford to do that. I could have started applying for other jobs but that was going to take time. I could have had another go at working out a solution with colleagues, but it hadn’t made any difference last time. I was stuck and I didn’t know what to do.
I decided to talk to God about the situation. I began praying specifically and I asked others to pray too. It was amazing how the power of prayer changed the atmosphere. Praying about the situation also changed me. I was able to see things from a different perspective, and I grew in wisdom. I realised how much emotional energy I had wasted trying to work it all out by myself.
We don’t always see our need for God’s wisdom. In the Bible James encourages us to ask God for wisdom especially when we are going through trials. Almighty God, you are an infinite source of wisdom - give us courage to trust you with our difficult situations. Enlighten our minds with fresh perspective and change the atmosphere by the gentle power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.