Raw and in Need of Wisdom
People are messy. I’m not talking peanut butter in the hair kind of messy, although sometimes that happens. I’m talking about pouring out your heart and letting friends into your personal world kind of messy. I was chatting with a friend one day and we exchanged prayer requests. A few hours later I looked at her and said, “okay, now what’s your REAL prayer request?” Then the true conversation began and I got a glimpse into her heart.
Life's valleys can be lonely, so let’s all open the doors of our hearts a little wider to let in some conversations that might be a little tarnished and lot raw. Let’s be willing to hear the deep groaning of our friends’ souls. Prepare your heart and your mind with the truth of God’s word so that you are equipped to redirect their needs and their worries to Him.
Community is a beautiful gift that God has given us, but it comes with warnings and a need for wisdom. We each bring our own perspective and some baggage from past hurts. By letting others close to us, we expose weaknesses and we test our patience. To build meaningful community and serve one another, we will undoubtedly encounter friction. In these moments, gentleness becomes crucial for persevering in our relationships.
In times of dissention between relationships in my own life, I return to this passage in James about Godly wisdom. “Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom… For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.” (James 3:13, 16-17)
Each of these descriptors of wisdom reign in a portion of my natural reaction, until my response becomes kind and graceful. This power-packed verse is a reminder of how desperate we are for God’s wisdom in our daily lives. And in our seeking for this gentle and peaceable wisdom, it’s important to remember that “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Proverbs 9:10)