anglican devotional

The Daily Fountain Devotional of the Church Of Nigeria (Anglican Communion) 16 October 2021 – Divine Wisdom Is Greater

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TOPIC: Divine Wisdom Is Greater

READ: Ecclesiastes 1:12-18 (NKJV)

  1. I, the Preacher, was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
  2. And I set my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all that is done under heaven; this burdensome task God has given to the sons of man, by which they may be exercised.
  3. I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and indeed, all [is] vanity and grasping for the wind.
  4. [What is] crooked cannot be made straight, And what is lacking cannot be numbered.
  5. I communed with my heart, saying, “Look, I have attained greatness, and have gained more wisdom than all who were before me in Jerusalem. My heart has understood great wisdom and knowledge.”
  6. And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.
  7. For in much wisdom [is] much grief, And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

THE MESSAGE:

King Solomon was a nobleman, wealthy and full of wisdom. Despite these, he never ceased craving for more wisdom which later resulted in frustration and grief (verses 14, 17). This passage gives us the results that King Solomon derived from his research for wisdom:

  1. Life doesn’t get easier if you try to run away from it (verse 14):
  2. Not everything can be changed in life (verse 15);
  3. Wisdom and experience will not solve every problem of life (verses 16-18).
    These results are based on two reasons:

i). Under heaven, there is no explanation for some things that happen, and God is not obligated to explain then, if He did, we might not understand.
ii). God has ordained that His people live by promises and not by explanations, by faith not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7). Hence, the more man craves for wisdom, the greater his grief.

Brethren, it is good to know that any wisdom that is devoid of God is vanity. The wisdom of this world leads to madness and folly. There is danger in relying on our own wisdom and understanding. Let us learn a lesson from the life of King Solomon – despite his potentials; he regarded all things as vanity and grasp for the wind. If a great man ends up in vain, what is likely to become the end of a common man? Let us make God our focus and depend wholly on His wisdom.

PRAYER: Help me O Lord to always depend on You, and never to rely on my own understanding.