Wisdom For Your Life // Wisdom to Transform Your Life, Part 6

A Different Perspective Official Podcast

So, how many Christmases, how many New Years Eves, how many birthdays do you have left on this earth, before your time here comes to an end? Okay, most of us have no idea. But life on this earth is finite. It will come to an end? How are you going to spend the rest of your life?

We know, you and I, that our days on this earth are numbered. We know that one day, we’re going to breathe our last breath. We know that one day, our heart will stop beating and that will be it, for our time here.

We know that, but mostly, we behave as though we’re going to live for ever. Somehow we put the idea that we’re going to die, out of our mind and we live mostly, for today.

The things of today, tomorrow and perhaps next week are what occupy our minds. As a former soldier, I like the expression 'down in the weeds' – it’s this sense that you can’t see the big picture, because you’re, well, down in the weeds.

Having navigated through many a swamp in my days in the military, it’s something I really relate to. Because when you’re down there, you can’t easily stick your head up and look around.

So, the cares and the pressures of this world take over, and it feels as though all that matters is what’s going on right now. The problems, the hurts, the conflicts, the joys, the pleasures that we have going on, right now.

But I believe God wants us to stick our heads up and get a sense of the big picture. Because when you take a look at the big picture of your life, it puts today into context. Maybe the things that we have going on right now aren’t all there is. Maybe, they’re a lot smaller, a lot less significant, in the bigger scheme of things.

The days of our life are seventy years, or perhaps eighty, if we are strong; even then their span is only toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. (Psalm 90:9-10)

That’s the truth of the matter. That’s what’s going to happen. SO what God wants you to do today is to stand back and look at the things that are happening in your life today, in context:

So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart. (Psalm 90:12)

Hmm, what’s He trying to say here? Quite simply this: count your days, they’re limited. If I live to the average age for a male which is 82, I have just 25 birthdays left. That’s around 9,125 days – under 10,000.

In one way, that’s not all that many. From another perspective, it’s rather a lot. What I am I going to do with the days that I have left? What are you going to do with the days you have left? Will they count? Will the lives of the people around you be better for having known you?

You start asking those sorts of questions, and you’re lifting your head out of the weeds. You start asking those sort of questions, you’ll develop some serious wisdom of the heart.

A funny thing happens when you lift up your eyes from the day to day. I have a beautiful park near my place, where I often go walking. I realised one day, that I constantly had my eyes looking down at the path ahead. Day after day.

So I decided instead, that I would look around. And you know, it opened up a whole new world of beauty and joy.

We tend to walk through life like that, looking down at our circumstances. Looking down and seeing the problems. Focussing on the here and now, don’t we.

At a time when Israel had spent seventy years as slaves, in captivity in Babylon, at a time when all God’s people could see was a lifetime of toil, God said this to them:

Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He who brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing. (Isaiah 40:26)

God wanted them to lift there eyes up out of their misery, out of their sense of lostness and of slavery, to focus on Him, on His power, on what He can do for them. He goes on …

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”? Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:27-13)

I wonder if perhaps today, you feel faint and weary and powerless. I wonder if perhaps today you feel exhausted. If you do, then lift up your eyes and see this God who put all the stars, the trillions upon trillions of stars in their place. The God who created the whole universe. The God who wants to renew your strength so that you too will mount up with wings like eagles, so that you to can run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.

Lift up your eyes today and wait expectantly on God – that’s what the original Hebrew word there means – to wait expectantly, hoping in Him, trusting in Him … then you will be laying hold of the might and the power, the love and the compassion of God for you, in your circumstances. In your life.

Isn’t it amazing the wisdom that God has ready and waiting for us, if only we’ll look, if only we’ll listen, hmm?! But wait, there’s more!

The reality for all of us, is that we lose sight of God amidst the busyness of life, just the day-to-day living life – who He is, His love for us, His incredible power for. Yep, we all lose sight of heavenly things, the spiritual dimension.

A dear friend and former business partner of mine, used to say that in understanding any difficult issue, any problem in life, context is everything – almost. He was right.

If you take a scripture verse out of context, you can turn it into a lie – that’s exactly what the devil did in tempting Jesus (Luke Chapter 4). And he’s still doing it today.

If you don’t take the time to understand the reasons behind a person’s actions, chances are, you’ll completely misunderstand them. And, you know, if we don’t get a grip on the heavenly context, the eternal context, the spiritual context of our lives, we're going to make so many mistakes.

Wisdom is about exercising good judgement. Wisdom is about taking our knowledge and experience, and making good decisions. But when you leave something out, if you miss part of the picture, you can’t be wise. You can’t make good decisions. And that’s what happens when we forget the heavenly context of our lives.

So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

How much time do you spend seeking the things that are above, the heavenly things? Setting your mind on the things that are above, not always on the things that are on this earth.

Here’s the big picture. Jesus died for you and if you believe in Him then your very life is tucked away in God with Christ. And one day, that life will be revealed in glory with Him.

Imagine just for a moment, if that became the overriding reality of your life. The context for all that you see and do, for everything that happens to you. Imagine how different the world would look. Imagine the strength and the power that you would lay hold of in dealing with your trials and temptations. Imagine, just imagine, the joy and the peace that would guard your heart, as each day, you set your heart and mind on the things that are above.

Well, stop imagining and start doing. Because the Lord your God has a whole new dimension of wisdom for your life, as you set your focus, on the things that are above.