View Site Map

Wisdom in the Workplace from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

What if there was an edge you could have that would set you apart from anyone else in your field? If you had deeper insight and understanding than your peers, that caused you to stand out from the rest. Would you be interested?

There is, and it's called wisdom. Wisdom is probably best defined as "the practical use of knowledge." It combines knowledge with experience and good judgment. Wisdom is how we apply the knowledge we have. The Lord anointed the great craftsmen in the Bible with wisdom:

(Exodus 31:1–6 NKJV)  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: "See, I have called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship, to design artistic works, to work in gold, in silver, in bronze, in cutting jewels for setting, in carving wood, and to work in all manner of workmanship. "And I, indeed I, have appointed with him Aholiab the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and I have put wisdom in the hearts of all the gifted artisans, that they may make all that I have commanded you.

The Lord understands there is work to be done, and His gifts spread into our workplace. Bezalel was already anointed for a task before Moses mentioned it. The Lord anointed craftsmen then to work in gold, silver, bronze, jewels, wood, and He made them gifted artisans.

It's also interesting that the Lord established the Sabbath day law right after He anointed the workers and gave Moses instructions on what should be built. A day of rest from work. The workers were commanded to not work seven days a week. For when they rested every seventh day, the Lord blessed their other six.

(Exodus 31:15 NKJV)  Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

All the great leaders in Scripture were given wisdom so they could accomplish something. Joshua was given the wisdom to lead the Israelites into the promised land:

(Deuteronomy 34:9 NKJV)  Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Solomon was given the wisdom to lead the people of Israel simply because he asked the Lord for it. The Lord appeared to Solomon one night after he offered a sacrifice at Gibeon, and this conversation took place between them:

(2 Chronicles 1:7–12 NKJV)  On that night God appeared to Solomon, and said to him, "Ask! What shall I give you?" And Solomon said to God: "You have shown great mercy to David my father, and have made me king in his place. Now, O LORD God, let Your promise to David my father be established, for You have made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Now give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people; for who can judge this great people of Yours?"

Then God said to Solomon: "Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked riches or wealth or honor or the life of your enemies, nor have you asked long life—but have asked wisdom and knowledge for yourself, that you may judge My people over whom I have made you king—wisdom and knowledge are granted to you; and I will give you riches and wealth and honor, such as none of the kings have had who were before you, nor shall any after you have the like."

Solomon had a task to do, so he asked the Lord for wisdom, and he received it. We can do the same. We don't have to be the wisest person that ever lived, but it's good to have enough wisdom to get through our day! And we can have it. James wrote this:

(James 1:5–8 NASB) But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

If we need wisdom, we can ask the Lord for it, and He will provide it. Now James said that we must ask in faith, which, to me, is to have enough faith to sincerely ask Him. I don't think He requires perfect faith, for even though Abraham and Moses were great men, they weren't perfect. Yet, they are our examples of faith.

I believe what James is saying is that a doubting person is like a cork bouncing on the ocean waves, up and down, forward and backward. Unstable in all ways and on a wild ride to nowhere. There is no need for the Lord to give that person anything, for tomorrow, they will have already changed their mind and be doing something else.

I know for a fact that if you ask the Lord for help to perform a task in the workplace, that He will help you. For years He put me in situations where I only had Him to look to for answers, and He always had them. When the Lord began pushing me into my own computer business, He would arrange strangely difficult service calls for me. I would be facing things like corrupted networked databases that I'd never seen before. Yet, as long as I would pray, He would give me the answer and the wisdom to repair it.

We need to shake off the mentality of an ancient god who is out of touch with the times and limited to a church building. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Lord's knowledge is infinite, and He knows far more than we have discovered yet. He can give us wisdom in every field under the sun. Whether it is computer programming, bioscience, space exploration, or knitting. He is there to help you do it better, if you will only ask.   

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, please open my eyes to the help I am missing out on. Give me the wisdom to do what I am facing today, and let me excel at the work You have given me to do. Anoint my head and my hands. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!