I started out for a long walk and I came into this meadow. In the meadow I saw a group of wild flowers; they weren’t doing anything but standing in the thicket. I said, “Excuse me Wild Flowers, why do you just stand here? What is your purpose? You are multicolored, you all stick together as a family, and you have a large area of ground you possess. But I don’t see you work or toil, just what is it you do?”
Wild flower’s in their melodious soft voices spoke up in unison. “It may appear to you that we are just standing here and that we have no purpose Sir, but we’ve seen many things others have never seen and heard secrets and have watched as seasons come and go. We see the moon come out every night and the sun come up every morning…the rain washes us and the sun dries us and, we keep the soil from escaping into the brook. We’ve seen many a man and woman pass our way going nowhere and doing nothing. What is your purpose, Sir?”
I looked with surprise and said, “My, my, my, that is a lot of doing, now, isn’t it? I will tell you Wild Flower’s, I’ve walked many miles and I’ve visited large cities. I’ve sailed across oceans and flown in airplanes and talked to many people all appearing to be going nowhere. I’ve asked them what their purpose in life is and not one could give me such a detailed answer as yours. I really don’t know my purpose. But I’m beginning to understand something of a mystery. We as people are always busy but we don’t accomplish very much. Oh there are huge high-rise buildings and houses built on every available piece of land. There are hospitals and schools and governments to teach us what our purposes are…and still at the end of our very old age, we look back, and can’t really tell you why we were put here on this earth.
Some have learned to achieve degrees in college. Some have accomplished climbing great mountain tops. Some have the most beautiful talents in music and art and science…they’ve made discoveries in the oceans and in the Universe but leave feeling empty and incomplete. Wisdom doesn’t come from reading books; she doesn’t come from experiences in life. No, Wisdom is something that is rare and only comes from one source. And to get, Wisdom, you have to ask.”
“Well, Sir, we understand because that source you speak of has given us all we need. He has put our purpose inside us. We are content in who we are and what our purpose is. We don’t have to seek for an answer. The answer is inside us. And when you know who your source is, and that all comes from Him, nothing else matters. We are at home in our own place. Our life-span is not very long, but in that life-span, we live a life-time knowing our source and doing what we were created to do. That is Wisdom, Sir.”
–Marla Shaw O’Neill March 30, 2017
James 1:5-8 The Voice (VOICE)
If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking.
Wisdom, as James understands it, is the ability to live life well and make good decisions. Wisdom doesn’t come from old age or hard knocks. Wisdom begins with knowing and depending absolutely on God, who is never stingy when it comes to wisdom for those who seek it. He supplies all the wisdom we need when we ask. But when we try to go it alone—without God—trouble is around the corner.
The key is that your request be anchored by your single-minded commitment to God. Those who depend only on their own judgment are like those lost on the seas, carried away by any wave or picked up by any wind. Those adrift on their own wisdom shouldn’t assume the Lord will rescue them or bring them anything.The splinter of divided loyalty shatters your compass and leaves you dizzy and confused.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
