Wisdom 10:9-12. Some of the great power of wisdom is described. Wisdom is usually portrayed as a woman - here she rescues those who serve her; she guides on straight paths a righteous man fleeing from his brother's wrath; she shows him the kingdom of God. Wisdom gives the righteous man the knowledge of the angels; she prospers all his labors; increases the fruit of his toil; makes him rich when his oppressors are covetous; protects him from his enemies; keeps him safe from those who lay in wait for him; and gives him victory "so that he might learn that godliness is more powerful than anything."

Obviously, wisdom is a pretty good friend to have! But how do we get it? How do we get its protection? It is not just random luck, it's not that God gives wisdom to some and not to others. If that were the case, we wouldn't have a whole book of the Bible devoted to instructing us to seek wisdom. God would never belittle us by telling us how he made some people wise and not others. So we can achieve some level of wisdom, how do we do that? First, let's ask what is wisdom? Wisdom is seeing the world and everything in it through God's eyes. So we can gain wisdom by trying to see the world the way God does. How can we do that? By giving ourselves over to God and learning his ways. You don't have to be especially smart to be wise. 

Once we make God the center of our lives - listen to him, learn his ways, and walk in his love - things start to make sense. We start to see a little of how the world really works - not the way man wants it to work or tells us it works, which is often the very opposite of how God made the world (remember, the devil is in charge down here for now). Wisdom comes as we start to see the world through the eyes of its creator. He alone knows all the "rules" - physical, metaphysical, spiritual - they are the very essence of the universe he created, and he wants to share them with us to the best of our ability to understand them. When we allow him to, we gain wisdom.

Think of God's power, his very being, radiating throughout the entire universe, like an unheard radio signal. When we "tune in" to that signal, by giving ourselves over to him and learning his ways and his Word, we begin to hear and understand the signal. Once we hear it, it becomes clearer and clearer - and everything starts making sense.

So if we devote ourselves to listening to and following God's Word, we gain wisdom and insight. Then, when our oppressors act against us, or people try to trap us, we have forewarning, we are protected, because we already see the machinations of the world - we have a kind of "radar" that alerts us to bad actors or evil. I find that the more I pray and ask for wisdom, grace, and guidance, the more attuned this radar gets.

We should all ask for wisdom, as Solomon did. It makes the world so much clearer and easier to navigate, and protects and defends us from evil.