Loading... Job 12:12 - LENGTH OF DAYS UNDERSTANDING
Wednesday, January 27th, 2010
Job 12:12 With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.
David tells us in Psalms 37:25 that “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.” There is great wisdom in those who have lived many years on this earth. Think about it, when you were a teenager you probably thought you knew everything, but now that you are older, you realize just how much you didn’t know. Life has a way of maturing you.
Remember when you were young how you complained about taking a nap. You just wanted to stay up and play. Now that you are older, how many times have you wished you could take a nap in the middle of day?
In this passage, Job is reminding us that we grow in understanding as we age. When we were younger, we probably were not very interested in asking other people their advice. However, the older you get, the more you understand the wisdom in asking other people what they think about the situation you find yourself in.
The older you get, the more different life experiences you encounter. The more life experiences you encounter, the better you are at handling the things you face. Have you ever driven in extreme winter weather? If you have, the first time you drove with snow and ice on the road, you probably lost control of your vehicle on multiple occasions. However, the more times you drove in the snow and ice, the more comfortable you became in responding to the various crisis that arise in driving in that weather. While you may not like driving in the winter, the more times you drive in the winter, the more adapt you are at handling the conditions.
The same is true with our spiritual life. The older we get, the more trials that we have faced, the more we know that God is our director, protector, and provider. The older we get, the more stories we can tell to others about the wonderful things that God has done for us. We may not like the trials that God brings into our life, but because of the testimonies that God has developed in our life, we are able to handle the trials will a degree of confidence.
David did not tell us that he had not seen the righteous bagging for bread because he made that up in his mind. David is telling us about an observation that he had seen in his own life. While he had experienced drought and persecution, David never went without food. God had always provided for his needs.
When trials come into our life, we may not know how God is going to get us out of them. We can respond as everyone else responds and throw a huge pity party for ourselves complaining about how unfair life is. Alternatively, we can respond with wisdom by recollecting upon all the things that God has done for us in the past. The more we look to what God has done for us in the past, the easier it will be for us to remain patient with God in our current distress.
You may not like the current trial that you are in but you can rest in the promises of God that HE has not brought anything upon your life except that which you are able to handle. You will not survive your current trial by worrying about it. Instead, the way to successfully navigate the storms of life is to patiently focus upon the things of God and watch how HE delivers you in ways you never imagined. The older you get, the easier it will be for you to understand just how little we know of the ways of God.