The Folly Of Common Sense

"Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding.” Job 28:28 How so? What is it about the "fear of the Lord" that makes it "wisdom?” The answer is that the person who truly fears the Lord has made a choice. Human nature has us place our trust in our own wisdom. We choose where to go to school, what job to take, whom to marry, where to live, how many children to have, how to raise the children, when to retire and what to do after that. There isn't a human being alive who hasn't made choices about the important things in their lives. But… When a believer has walked with the Lord for a considerable amount of time, he comes to realize that some of his choices were not the best choices he could have made. Marriages fail, children go wrong, the job or career can end disastrously, illness may strike, and the believer finds his wisdom has failed him. That's when a person might realize the wisdom in turning his life over to the Lord who created him and putting his full trust in HIS wisdom. The walk of faith is very, VERY difficult. It's difficult because the believer will sometimes be placed in seemingly horrendous circumstances which he does not at all understand, but when he has been prepared sufficiently he will learn that God pre-plans the lives of those who are committed to him, and it's all for a purpose. A very real purpose. How it turns out depends on faith. Moses sent twelve men into the promised land to scout it out and bring back a report. Ten of them reported that there were giants in the land (and they actually WERE giants) and that they were as grasshoppers in the sight of those giants. Because of fear they refused to go into the land and take it as God had directed. Joshua and Caleb however, stood on the Word of God who had guaranteed them the victory. They saw the same giants that the other ten saw, but their focus was in the God who sent them. And the outcome of that ...changed history. The bottom line is the choice of whom to put one's trust in. The "wisdom" of the ten spies told them that this mission was impossible. But Joshua and Caleb put their trust in the wisdom of God who send them, refuting the "wisdom" of common sense, and the impossible was accomplished. In another story, the Lord told Joshua that the men of Israel were to march around Jericho for seven days rather than attack it as common sense would have dictated. What would have been the outcome if they had refused the "foolishness" of marching in circles? They would have lost the battle. But in following the Lord's directions (which made no "common" sense) the victory was won and Jericho fell without even a battle. Brothers and sisters, those of you who have walked with the Lord for awhile surely have noticed that God does NOT follow "common sense." In fact, his directions to the believer will often contradict common sense, and it may be that God does things this way in order to test our faith, and in order that we realize his way is always the way to victory regardless how lacking in "common sense" it may be. "God moves in mysterious ways," says the song writer. And those mysterious ways are the call to faith. It takes faith to surrender one's wisdom to the wisdom of God, but therein lies the victory. Saints, surrender your wisdom to the wisdom of God. Surrender your common sense to the directions of God ...and you will see victory.