Wisdom is Power

Because of the Gospel, wisdom and power are linked in every Christian’s life.

We need both intelligence and power in the Holy Spirit.

In Daniel chapter 2, Daniel praises God for giving him wisdom and might.

Wisdom, I understand. Daniel was gifted prophetically. He was intelligent and when he went through his Babylonian training for three years, he gleaned the best while refusing to be inducted into the pagan ways of the enemy empire. So, yes, definitely Daniel should be praising God for making him wise.  But… mighty? How can you be a captive exile in a foreign land with no say-so, no political standing, and subject to your enemy, and think of yourself as full of might?

Victor Hugo, author of Les Miserables, wrote elsewhere: “All the forces in the world are not so powerful as an idea whose time has come.” Those words remind us of those that are credited to Francis Bacon: “knowledge is power,” but the saying has a much more ancient source. The saying is rooted in Proverbs 24:5, “A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might.”

If you know something that others don’t, no matter who you are or where you are, you are in a position of strength.

The story is told about a man who was paid $100,000 to sit in a big, empty office behind a big, empty desk in a big building of a big corporation. A new employee asked his manager why the man was paid so generously to just sit there. The manger replied, “Ten years ago, that man had a really good idea that ended up netting the company about ten million dollars. So,” the manager explained, “he’s paid to sit there with hopes that he’ll come up with another good idea.”

Every single Christian can hear from God and be led by the Spirit. Wisdom from God is yours for the asking. And everyone who is wise is strong. And that’s the Gospel!