“For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” Proverbs 2:6

When you look at me, I am the product of all my previous good and bad decisions. So are you. The person you and I are today is made up of the sum of the choices and decisions we made in the past.

Making good/right decisions is one of the major keys to success in our lives. However, when we make a choice or decision, we may not consider the seriousness of its effect on our lives. Therefore, we make choices in a hurry and without proper thinking.

I still remember an evening I sat in the upper chamber of my cousin’s house. I made up my mind to accept the US visa and come to the USA by leaving a new good-paying job in India after a brief time of reflection on the potential issues. At that time, I was torn between two options- remain in the place I was or leave the country and to another one. I did not give much importance to that choice at that time of my life. I arose from my chair and decided to go to the USA, leaving everything behind. My Economics graduate degree books, files, and notes were all still inside the rented room in India. I only thought about coming to the USA for a few years and then returning to India. However, that choice made in the evening completely changed the direction of my life. I lived in the USA for the last 33 years and gone through the unimaginable course of changes in my life- real bad and some magnificent changes and experiences. It resulted in a mixture of good and bad results in my life. I raised children, a career, theological studies, and spiritual growth.

During this time of history, frequently, we end up making quick decisions in a limited time frame, don’t we? Sometimes we make decisions without thinking much about it only to find later that such rapid and seemingly small decisions had a significant impact on our lives. We all are human. We end up making good and bad decisions. However, had we known better, we would not have made a few of those choices, do we? This is why we need wisdom. Wisdom does not merely mean knowledge. Wisdom includes understanding, insight, judgment along with the acquired knowledge. Besides, we make decisions without knowing the future. We do not know how it will all turn out.

Therefore, to make the right choices and decisions, we need wisdom, understanding, insight into the future. Where do we get it? Our Bible verse today says, “The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” If the LORD gives wisdom, then it is important to listen to him because from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.

We live in a culture that says, listen to your heart or listen to your intuition. However, our heart or intuition would be false and lead us to wrong choices and actions if we do not listen to the LORD to make sure it comes from his mouth. The reason is that there is only one source of wisdom, and that is the LORD God. You can acquire knowledge from many places, but get wisdom only from God.

Proverbs 2:9 says, “He shows how to distinguish right from wrong and find the right decision every time.” TLB. Choices made based on people’s or popular opinions would not hold for a long time because people and culture are temporal and transitory. People’s and popular views change over time.

I would say the safe place is to listen to the LORD, who gives wisdom and understanding. Two things you can do in this matter. Pray and seek God for His wisdom. Study the pages of the Bible because all the words in it are God-breathed, that would make you much wiser.

“Father in heaven, I thank you I can pray to you for wisdom and guidance when I make a choice. I also can read and study the Bible to know the wisdom from heaven in making good and right decisions. I  pray Lord. help me to seek you for true wisdom. Help me not to get cues from culture,  popular opinions, and personal intuitions but always check with you and your word (the Bible) to make sure my steps are according to your plans. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.