Healing Word

On May 20, 2021   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

James 3: 17

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy.

I told you the story about the rash I had and the miracle healing of it. Well, there are a couple of interesting take aways from that story. First, it really wasn’t a miracle healing at all. It was just God being God. I didn’t receive prayer and “Eureka” the rash was gone. It vanished because God had already provided healing and I finally cooperated with Him. The second important take away was that it wasn’t a Word from God on healing that I needed. It was a revelation on, first, prayer, and second, repentance. The important lesson from this little example is that it might not be healing you need. It might be repentance, or obedience, or something else entirely.

I heard another story like this once. The administrator of the ministry school I attended told this story one evening about praying for her sick child. She faithfully sat at his bedside confessing every healing scripture she knew and praying diligently for his health. The child’s health continued to deteriorate until he was at the point of death. She did everything she knew to do, but she didn’t do everything God knew to do, at least not until she received a revelation from Him. Exhausted and defeated, she turned to God and in those quiet moments, when not even prayer was being said, she heard God’s word. He told her she was praying the wrong thing. As she listened to that calm voice within her, the truth was revealed. She hastened to pray according to the word of wisdom from God and the child recovered.

I could have prayed and prayed and prayed for healing from the virus that caused the rash. I could speak to the rash and tell it to be gone. Those things would have left me frustrated, confused and still covered in a rash. It was the Word from God which healed me. Healing was in doing what Father told me to do.

We don’t always know what we need. We don’t always know the underlying cause of a thing. It looks like we need physical healing, but God might say we need emotional healing. I just read yesterday that 85% of illness has emotional roots. He might show us that we have gotten off course and the path we’re on has unintended, negative consequences so that the remedy is to get back on course. The point is, we just don’t know what we don’t know. However, God is omniscient. He knows. We need to learn how to be still; to be quiet and let Him speak to our hearts. He will lead us if we allow Him to.

This is why I have been encouraging meditation, stillness and quiet. I have written in years past about “busy” being a four-letter word. It all has to do with hearing God and receiving His guidance. When we get so busy that we no longer have the opportunity for quiet time with God, then we are too busy. It’s not healthy for us nor productive in the long term. Take some time to be in the tranquil presence of the Lord and let him speak to your heart.

See also: Psalm 46:10, Psalm 32: 1

 

Back to Top

Characteristic Wisdom

On July 9, 2018   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

James 3: 17          (CJB)

But the wisdom from above is, first of all, pure, then peaceful, kind, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.

Today’s verse is taken from the Complete Jewish Bible. This is another translation you may want to look at from time to time. I like what it reveals to us about our heavenly Father in this verse.

Of course the wisdom which comes from above is coming from Yahweh. The verse goes on to list the characteristics of this wisdom which comes down from above. It takes no great intellectual leap to understand that the traits listed here are the traits of the Father. I want you to see that the Father is first of all pure, then peaceful, kind, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and not hypocritical. Each of those traits is a meditation unto itself and we could end the Word of the Day right here with you meditating on those traits one by one.

There is one other thing that motivated the use of this verse though. I wish for you to see how the whole Bible fits together. You have seen other verses which reveal God’s character traits. You have even seen other verses about His wisdom. Now you see them coming together and that is what I love about the Word. It continues to reveal the Father but in connected ways. His wisdom reflects His character. That will help you when you pray for wisdom. If the answer you receive does not reflect the character of the Father, then it is not from Him. The same is true of advice. If it is not peaceable, impartial, etc. it is not from God.

These verses come together to paint a picture of God and they show you how He moves in the world. Throughout the Bible you will see His kindness revealed in everything He does. By piecing all these verses together we are gaining a better picture of who God is. He freely gives His wisdom to us and it is always from a place of love.

Back to Top

Wise Counsel

On September 14, 2017   /   Word of the Day   /   Leave a comment

James 3: 17

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

Learning to hear and recognize the voice of God is a skill and like all skills, it can be learned. One of the questions I am asked most frequently is, “How do I know that I hear is God speaking?” That is a good question. Brother James gives us a good response today. If what you hear in your head (or heart) contradicts any of the godly characteristics he lists above, then it is not God. When you ask God for advice and/or wisdom, He will always answer with pure, peaceable, reasonable, merciful, unwavering, non-hypocritical answers which are full of good fruit. One caveat, however. What God tells us does not always sound reasonable to our human minds but when you look at it through the eyes of the Spirit, you will see the reasons for it.

You can extrapolate a bit further with this advice from James. What if you have asked another person for advice or wisdom? Run whatever they say through this machine. If it does not pass the test of James 3: 17, then it is not “wisdom from above.”

Okay, now take it even one step further. What if a person runs a business in which its guiding principles are not as enumerated above? It does not mean the owner is not a Christian but it does mean that God’s wisdom is not being employed in that business. We are all on a learning curve so don’t judge the owner. They, perhaps, have just not learned how to run a business in partnership with God yet. However, you should ask yourself if it is a business you are comfortable aligning yourself with. And, if you really want to hear something radical, watch all of the businesses you deal with. You may actually find a non-Christian who employs more of God’s wisdom than the Christian.

James told us that we are to ask God for wisdom and that the Lord gives it freely (1: 5). Now you know how to check it to determine if it really is wisdom from above.

Back to Top