Hard-Earned Wisdom
By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established. Proverbs 24:3 (NIV)
Pain has a purpose and those difficult situations bring us hard-earned wisdom. We have all had some pain during our lifetime and there is probably more ahead. The question is what do we do with our desert walking moments? Brenda L. Yoder (Mornings with Jesus) has learned to reach out and not to let her experiences define her.
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“So much hard-learned, God-honoring wisdom,” a friend messaged me after I was a guest on her podcast. I was the episode’s expert as a therapist and someone with personal experience on a difficult subject I rarely discussed in open forums. My expertise was professional and personal. Yet I felt vulnerable sharing personal struggles when I didn’t know how they would be received. But the phrase in the text, “hard-earned wisdom,” made me pause. Others rarely validated my most painful life experiences because few people were privy to them. The story I shared in the interview as one of the most challenging I had walked through. Had wisdom grown from the heartache? As a counselor, I knew it was important to share what I had learned so someone would not feel alone as I had. As a parent, I worried about what others would think of me.
As I sat in silence that evening, I felt Jesus impress upon me that my pain had a purpose. Wisdom and encouragement evolved from the trial. As difficult as it was, my experience was a gift to be shared with others that could not be curated elsewhere. I felt gratitude as I accepted the gift of my friend’s words that God never wastes difficult times. Being vulnerable can be difficult, but hard-earned, God-honoring wisdom is Jesus’s gift for life’s sorrows. Wisdom from life’s problems—a hard-earned treasure.
FAITH STEP: Take a quiet moment to list the lessons you have learned from your difficult seasons, thanking Jesus for the wisdom you’ve gained. Be willing to share the gift of hard-earned, God-honoring wisdom when someone needs it.
Heavenly Father, thank You for those difficult experiences that we have endured with Your help. Lead us to others with whom we can share and help. AMEN.