Trust in God's Wisdom

Dear Reader,

"These are the times that try men's souls." Do you know who wrote that? I was pondering the times, the hardships financially that many people are in, this sentence popped into my head. At that time, I didn't know who wrote it. My first thoughts were either Winston Churchill or FDR. So I "google'd" the phrase and I was totally surprised. Thomas Paine, the Revolutionary author of "Common Sense" wrote it. It is the first sentence of the first paragraph of the booklet, "The American Crisis."

This phrase from Paine over 230 years ago, still apply to us today. These are times that sorely test our souls today. We look to our leaders, both corporate and government, for guidance and wisdom in order to lead us out of these trying times. And our leaders are saying to us, "We don't know what to do. We don't know how to fix this. We are as scared as you are." The wisdom and intelligence of man in this crisis is failing. And people are asking, "Who's going to lead us through these times?" When the times are tough, and human wisdom fails, we turn to the wisdom of God. The text for us this week is from 1st Corinthians 1:18-31.

For to those who are perishing the message of the cross is foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is God's power. For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and I will set aside the understanding of the experts. Where is the philosopher? Where is the scholar? Where is the debater of this age? Hasn't God made the world's wisdom foolish? For since, in God's wisdom, the world did not know God through wisdom, God was pleased to save those who believe through the foolishness of the message preached. For the Jews ask for sings and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles. Yet to those who He called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ is God's power and God's wisdom, because God's foolishness is wiser than human wisdom, and God's weakness is stronger than human strength. Brothers, consider your calling: not many are wise from a human perspective, not many powerful, not many of noble birth. Instead, God has chosen the world's foolish things to shame the wise, and God has chosen the world's weak things to shame to strong. God has chosen the world's insignificant and despised things - the things viewed as nothing - so He might bring to nothing the things that are viewed as something, so that no one can boast in His presence. But from Him you are in Christ Jesus, who for us became wisdom from God, as well as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption, in order that, as it is written: the one who boasts must boast in the Lord.

We believe that God through Jesus Christ, will lead us through these times that are trying our souls. We believe that God will be the light in the darkness. We believe that God is our guide, not only in troubling times, and also in times of great joy and prosperity. We believe that God, the Holy Spirit, guides us believers through the problems we are currently facing.

Won't God make the life of the believer immune for all trials? No, God will not transport us out of troubling times. God will lead us by means of His grace, love, mercy, and wisdom, through the problems that we all humans face. If God had a weakness, that weakness is much stronger than any of man's strengths. If God was foolish, His foolishness is much wiser that the wisest man or woman in human existence.

So, does God tell us what to do in this financially troubling times? Does His Word tell us what to do? There is much from God and His Word that can lead us in these times. Yet I think God says much more about placing our total lives and existence and experiences into His hands. His hands have saved us from our sins and sinfulness. His hands have given to us His wisdom to follow. His hands have given to us expertise in certain areas to use as tools when we follow him. We don't trust our own expertise, because it will ultimately fail. We trust God to lead us so that we use our expertise to serve Him, to serve others, and then to serve ourselves. We trust our God and Savior, Jesus Christ, in order to lead us in our daily lives.

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Hemsath