“We will never lack wisdom if we abide in its Source.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – January 20, 2026
If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
I hope you, like I, received some lovely Christmas gifts last month; but isn’t it funny how, just a month later, it’s difficult to remember exactly what they were, so quickly is all the gifted goodness consumed. But there is one gift that, if we but remember to ask for it, we can be certain will serve us every day, hour, moment of the year, and that is Wisdom.
As a wife and mother, I am daily humbled by my desperate need for God’s wisdom. Discipling young human souls is a tall order, and, to all parents’ dismay, there is no instruction manual to follow. So, remembering to ask for wisdom is not a challenge for me. But I can struggle to understand what the Lord’s wisdom looks like. I have often asked for wisdom and then felt let down when I didn’t see immediate results. It’s as if I was waiting for some superpower to manifest itself instantaneously and start working wonders in my life with a bang. But what I’m learning about wisdom as I (hopefully) grow in it, is that it doesn’t work like that. Wisdom is only gained as it is needed, as we walk through our struggles with its Source. It cannot be given independent of Himself. In fact, I think dependence may be the point. The writer of Proverbs tells us that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Proverbs 9:10). Framing it another way, we might say that our dependence upon the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. He gives it to us as daily bread – like manna in the wilderness, just enough for that day – because He knows what wisdom is required for our immediate circumstances. Thank goodness we aren’t given wisdom to solve all the problems of the world or all the hypothetical situations that may arise in our lives! Then we would, like Adam and Eve after tasting the forbidden fruit or King Solomon in the height of his pride, think ourselves wise and forget to seek the Giver of wisdom.
To seek Wisdom is to walk humbly and closely with the Lord, every day, in every circumstance. As we do, His wisdom is a guarantee, for He has promised to provide it in full to those who come to him empty-handed and hungry. The more we abide in the love of our Father, the more we will see His wisdom lighting our paths, and the more we will recognise that wisdom is not of ourselves, but rather an evergreen gift that He keeps on giving.
How much more confident we might be in our lives, work, decisions if we would make the words from “Be Thou My Vision” our own daily prayer this year:
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord.
Thou my great Father and I, Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Prayer
Faithful Father, I need wisdom like I need daily bread. You are the source and giver of all wisdom. Help me to walk humbly with you and to trust your promise to give me the wisdom I need when I need it. Amen.
Application
Take God up on his promise. Each day, ask him for his wisdom. When you feel dismayed, ask him for his wisdom. Come to him in every circumstance and trust that he will give you what you need.
Related Reading
Job 28:28; Proverbs 2:6; Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 2:8-9; Ephesians 5:15-16
Worship Resource
Celtic Worship ft. Steph Macleod: Be Thou My Vision
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