This is a five-part series on allowing the wisdom of God to heal us from life’s disappointments:

**If you personally know me, you would know I describe myself as a traveling enthusiast.  Despite all my traveling errs (The Art of Traveling Light), the spontaneity and thrill of exploring new places, or even learning more about familiar ones, combat my desire of planning because there’s so much I can do in order to prepare before embarking on a journey.  My dearest moments happen during the week before traveling because I get to day-dream about what I’m about to encounter.  In the many instances, my sojourns are exceedingly above and beyond my expectations, but there are those very few times when my experiences are inferior to what I had hoped. 

We’ve all been disappointed with how unexpected life can be.  There are plenty of antidotes the world can offer to numb our pain of having to live with our disillusions.  Oftentimes, our wounds are not wholly healed because we keep numbing them with distractions.  It only takes one trigger to bring all the pain back when we were meant to confront it directly.  God wants us to bring our hurts to Him with the promise of a much stronger antidote.**

WISDOM TAKES TIME

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,  knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.  But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

James 1:2-4

I’m not a runner.  I always came last in every race.  I was once challenged to run ten miles and this verse was my most devoted cheerleader.

“Count it all joy,” she shouted with confidence.

I later came to learn her name was Wisdom.

Have you ever confided in a person you’ve entrusted all your deepest hurts in hopes of finding empathy?  In return, we are given advice we’ve been trying to evade and we leave the conversation even more dissatisfied because we didn’t hear what we wanted.  I’d like to believe empathy and wisdom are closely related, perhaps mother and daughter, but what we really crave isn’t always what we think we need.  If we are only offered empathy, we will not grow from the situation we are in, but we will dwell on the specifics of our hurt longer than we should, without any hope of fully healing.

Wisdom aspires us to examine the why we are in the place we are and the how to overcome it.  Wisdom strongly believes in her daughter, Empathy, to do her job of ailing our wounds; but as a nurturing mother hopes for her children to get up when they fall, so does Wisdom anticipate for us to finish the race even if we are in last place.

Trials can’t be avoided.  When we are told to “count it all joy,” we are merely warned not to be discouraged.  We can grunt, scream, and cry in pain all we want, but we are to keep running despite our desire to quit.  To “count it all joy” is how our faith instructs us to receive every trial we encounter; it doesn’t mean to be cheery and fake about it, but to embrace the pain with the knowledge of the promises we are birthing.  This is Wisdom cheering us on because she knows there’s a reward at the end of every trial we face.  According to James, our trials are defined as the testing of our faith, and they will produce one of the most prayed for fruit of the Spirit, patience.

The “patience” (ancient greek word, hupomone) in this particular verse, however, isn’t calling us to passively wait but to actively endure.  When we run a race, we may not achieve first place but we are told to actively endure until we reach the finish line.  The truth is, there’s no timetable because we all run differently and we all have various goals that take us through unusual paths.

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 12:1-2

When I posted The Art of Traveling Light, a friend reminded me of this verse.  Whether we go to the grocery store or a restaurant, we are surrounded by people who are witnesses to our actions and reactions. When we receive horrible customer service, we are inclined to return the mistreatment or complain about it with the manager without taking it a step further.  Could this be the moment the Lord wants us to apply our knowledge into action (wisdom)?  After all, “knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.”

We can sit behind the computer screen and spout Bible verses and tell the world how Christian we are, but our trials will truly reveal our faith.  This isn’t accusatory, but it simply serves as a warning to examine ourselves on a daily basis.

The encouragement of it all is this,  IT DOES TAKES TIME!

And Mother Wisdom knows this very well.  But if we listen to her intently, we will be better equipped to run.  Although we serve a patient God, time’s value should not be wasted.  God doesn’t mind our slow speed, but He deeply cares about our productivity. 

In Proverbs 6:6-8, Solomon uses the ant as the ultimate role model,

Go to the ant, you sluggard!   Consider her ways and be wise, which, having no captain, overseer or ruler, provides her supplies in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.

When we run, despite life’s injuries, we are able to perfect our time; not so we can surpass others and become competitive, but to challenge ourselves and demonstrate to “the great cloud of witnesses” that it can be done. If we choose to let go of some of the baggage that weighs us down, we will be able to gain momentum in the times we need to sprint.

We are our own competition.  Walk when you are severely injured and can’t run, but don’t stop, even if it means having to limp all the way through the end.

When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble.

Proverbs 4:12

To be honest, I don’t recall how long it took me to finish those ten miles.  All I remember is that it was done.  There were times I sprinted, other times I jogged, but then there were the moments I decided to walk and sulk in the beauty nature had to offer me.

And who knows, perhaps running can come in handy when we are late to the airport or onto our next journey!