I Need More Wisdom! How Can I Grow in Godly Insight?

I Need More Wisdom! How Can I Grow in Godly Insight?

Posted on by Michele Morin

When King Solomon, confronted by two women who were claiming the same baby, pronounced, “Cut the baby in half!” how did he know that one of the women, the real mother, would rather give up her child than see him murdered? (1 Kings 3:16-28)

When Samuel the prophet grabbed his sword and “hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal,” he must have been pretty sure that’s what the Lord wanted him to do. (1 Samuel 15:33)

In both cases, there’s no do-over when it comes to that kind of sword work. And in both cases, we see God bringing remarkable wisdom to mind for dealing with a high-pressure, insoluble problem. In both cases, the action was based on a no-turning-back certainty.

It’s clear that the average 21st-century Christian won’t be put in the position to need that degree of certainty, but I break the tenth commandment every time I read about it.

That desire puts me in company with Job when he asks, “But where shall wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?” (Job 28:12) He asks again in verse 20, and then answers his own question with this conclusion:

God understands the way to it,
    and he knows its place.
For he looks to the ends of the earth
    and sees everything under the heavens…
‘Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom,
    and to turn away from evil is understanding.’” (Job 28:23, 24, 28)

It may seem like an oversimplification, but wisdom comes from God. In Job’s case, it came from God through suffering. In Solomon’s case, he knew enough to ask God for wisdom. In Samuel’s life, wisdom came from a lifelong habit of listening to the voice of God.

It may seem like an oversimplification, but wisdom comes from God. He knows I need it, and he has promised that he “gives it generously to all without reproach”

From these three biblical examples, I’m drawing three conclusions about wisdom:

1. I won’t waste my suffering. If Job can emerge from suffering saying, “I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you,” I’m challenged to a different and better framing of the disappointments, pain, and losses of my life.

Is it possible that suffering is a telescope that facilitates a better view of God and, therefore, a clearer understanding of godly wisdom?

2. If Solomon, as a young man, could muster the good sense and optimism to ask God for wisdom when he could have asked for anything, I am challenged to become more intentional and purposeful in asking God for wisdom. He knows I need it, and he has promised that he “gives [wisdom] generously to all without reproach” (James 1:5). When you pray for something that God has specifically told us to ask for, isn’t it great to know that you’re praying in the will of God?

3. Samuel heard the voice of God for the first time as a young boy when God called to him audibly and entrusted him with bad news that must have been hard to deliver (1 Samuel 3). God spoke to Samuel about the choosing of King Saul and King David—and he entrusted him with more bad news when it was time for Saul to be deposed.

The recent death of Walter Brueggemann has reminded me of the importance of imagination in our quest for wisdom. He defined imagination as “the capacity to host a world other than the one that is in front of us.” At their best and wisest, Job, Solomon, and Samuel reimagined their suffering or their role in ways that allowed them to Get Wisdom.

Wisdom that shows up as situational insight seems to arise from relationship, from listening to the voice of God as it’s revealed in his word, so that it’s recognizable when it comes in the moment. I want to be wiser today than I was yesterday and wiser tomorrow than I am today, because life requires discernment for circumstances not specifically dealt with in the Bible.

Wisdom is a gift. We weren’t born with it. It’s supernatural, and God the Son has the wisdom of God because He is the wisdom of God. So come to Jesus in whom are “hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3)

Thank you for joining me in this year of seeking wisdom. You can see all my Get Wisdom posts for 2025 here!

Holding You in the Light,

Is it possible that suffering is a telescope that facilitates a better view of God and, therefore, a clearer understanding of godly wisdom?

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Published by Michele Morin

Michele Morin is a Bible teacher, writer, reader, and gardener committed to the truth that women can become confident Christ-followers and students of God's Word. She has been married to an unreasonably patient husband for thirty-plus years, and together they have four married sons and a growing fleet of adorable grandchildren. Michele loves hot tea and well-crafted sentences, poems that stop her in her tracks, and days at the ocean with the whole family. She laments biblical illiteracy and advocates for the prudent use of “little minutes.” She blogs at Living Our Days, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter.

25 thoughts on “I Need More Wisdom! How Can I Grow in Godly Insight?”

  1. I’m coming to realize that God doesn’t always answer our requests for wisdom with an immediate blinding flash of insight. So often it comes in these other ways you mention–through His Word, through walking with Him and learning to know His voice. I’m thankful He is a patient teacher.

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  3. It was so enlightening how you broke down the three ways to find wisdom – through Job, Samuel, and Solomon. I think first it came through suffering for me – and as I’ve grown older, through listening to Him. I don’t know that I have ever directly asked for “wisdom” – and I will be talking to God about that this week. I think I have asked for wisdom situationally – but not just the blanket covering of it. You write, “reimagined their suffering or their role in ways that allowed them to Get Wisdom” – understanding this is liberating and life-changing – I wonder if it only comes with age – or special dispensation to a youth crying out in hardship? I love my Monday mornings here Michelle!

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  6. I have found that wisdom is gained by not only immersing one’s self in the word of God but applying it in one’s daily life. It’s not enough to be educated we must live it as well.

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  7. Great examples! When I need wisdom and feel that I lack it, I often go back to James 1 and the promise that God gives wisdom to those who ask in faith. I realized, my faith is in Him keeping His promise, not in me believing I’ve come up with the right answer. Faith is the “the conviction of things not seen.”

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  8. Great examples! When I need wisdom and feel that I lack it, I often go back to James 1 and the promise that God gives wisdom to those who ask in faith. I realized, my faith is in Him keeping His promise, not in me believing I’ve come up with the right answer. Faith is the “the conviction of things not seen.”

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  9. I like your thoughts and insights here Michelle. I don’t want to waste my suffering either. It’s often during flair ups suffering from several chronic illnesses that I find myself asking God to show me what I’m supposed to be learning. I’m sure He’s trying to tell me something, but it’s redirecting my focus from the suffering to Him so that my eyes are open and focused on Him

    Thanks bunches for sharing with Sweet Tea & Friends this month sweet friend. I’m so happy you’re here.

    xo

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  10. These are very wise words about getting wisdom. 🙂 As much as I want wisdom NOW and think that I want it for any possible circumstance that I might face at some point, it seems like God gives wisdom at the moment it’s needed and for the circumstance we’re in. If, as you remind us, we are in relationship with him and growing in wisdom in daily increments through time spent in his Word.

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  11. In my experience Michele I’ve seen His wisdom come more & more into focus when I’ve gone (& still am going through) suffering, even though at the time it doesn’t feel like it.

    When I look back I can see that His wisdom in the situation was far greater than anything I could ever have thought or even prayed for, as His presence becomes more present in a very real way.

    Visiting from Lisa’s WOTY linky today.

    blessings, Jennifer

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