Psalm 90:12 says,
“Teach us to number our days that we may present to Thee a heart of wisdom.”
Some translations say “gain a heart of wisdom,” “that we may get a heart of wisdom,” or that “we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” The emphasis is the “heart of wisdom.”
In Psalm 90 — a prayer of Moses — we are reminded of the brevity of life. So, we evaluate the use of our time and our lives in light of that brevity. We become encouraged to pursue wisdom with a new urgency. Since we are sinners, all our life is spent under God’s wrath, and our life is greatly limited in years. Life flies away in death like a fleeting bird.
This prayer of Moses is a plea that God would enable His people to live a significant life. His prayer is that we would see the importance of numbering our days and realize how few they really are in number. Moses prays this because of their certain and speedy end.
I see how quickly life goes as I ponder the years of marriage my sweetheart and I have had. We have ten grandchildren and one great grandchild. It often seems like it was yesterday I was chasing my daughter, then my granddaughter and now my great-granddaughter. Time truly does go quickly.
It is good to spend our days pursuing wisdom. It is good to slow down and think about what is important, be slower to anger, show appreciation, love others more, be more respectful, and encourage others with our smile. Our pursuit is to become the women God created us to be. We want to give glory to Him and to present to Him a heart of wisdom.
The Definition of Godly Wisdom
Webster’s Dictionary defines wisdom as: “…an accumulation of learning; the ability to discern inner qualities; insight; good sense; wise attitude; or course of action.”
Scripture, however, defines wisdom as: “...the beginning of knowledge”
(Proverbs 9:10). Scripture also notes the following about wisdom: “He who is wise will let it show” (James 3:13). It states that, “…wisdom is better than gold” (Proverbs 16:16). Scripture also says we are to
“…cease from our own wisdom” (Proverbs 23:4). “God’s words are to make us wise” (2 Timothy 3:15).
Wisdom is the opposite of our natural inclination. Wisdom is seeing and responding to life’s situations from God’s frame of reference. Wisdom is not just intellect but what we do with the intellect. It is what motivates us to act and react.
Seeking Wisdom
There is a woman who reaches my heart of compassion and challenges me to pursue a heart of wisdom. Scripture describes her as a woman with a hungry heart for God’s wisdom. I think we can learn a valuable principle from her. There is no proof she ever accepted God’s love for herself. Her name isn’t even mentioned in the Scripture.
This woman is the Queen of Sheba. Scripture says she had a hungry heart for wisdom. She was so hungry for this wisdom that she traveled for weeks across the wind-swept sand of the Arabian Desert. It was about one-thousand miles to where she had heard of Solomon who was the wisest man in the world. She had heard Solomon’s wisdom was from his God and that his God was a loving, wise God. She was hungry for his God’s wisdom. She traveled through the hot desert, her skin burning and cracking and needing oil. It was a weary trip for this queen.
She was on a quest and did not take her journey from vanity nor out of any feminine curiosity because she wanted to impress Solomon with her beauty. Hers was not a state visit to make a new treaty of some sort or to behold the magnificence of the court of Solomon.
She was a seeker after wisdom, and she made the tedious journey from her own palace to that of Solomon’s to increase her knowledge. She was inspired to make the visit because of the fame of Solomon’s wisdom. The Scripture says that “she came to prove Solomon with hard, or perplexing questions.” She heard that Solomon knew all about The name of the Lord. She came for wisdom.
She came in search of higher knowledge. She had a thirst for deeper understanding of the true knowledge. As a worshipper of other gods she wanted to know about this Jehovah who had made Solomon so wise, and as a worshipper of other gods she wanted to know about this Jehovah who had favored the king in an outstanding way.
She came. She heard. She saw. She asked questions. She got answers.
She went home and didn’t accept or apply what she’d learned to her life (as far as we know).
How often do we do the same? How often do we seek God’s Word and go away without applying it to our lives?
I’d like to make three suggestions for seeking godly wisdom and applying it to our lives:
1. Read God’s Word.
Read the Old and New Testaments from beginning to end. See how God works things out in others’ lives.
2. Attend your local church.
Watch, listen and apply the messages being preached and taught. Pray that you would apply those messages to your life.
3. Get involved in and attend a women’s Bible study.
Watch, listen, seek and apply. Seek to apply godly wisdom to your life. God’s Word has answers to your everyday needs.
