Wisdom from Above

Transcript

Hello, my friend… so glad you're with me today. This is By God's Call — day 119, Wisdom from Above.

James chapter three, verse seventeen. Listen closely: "But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere."

Let that settle for just a moment.

There is a wisdom that rises from the earth. You know it well — it climbs up from inside us when we're afraid, when we're competing, when we need to win an argument or protect our reputation. It's shrewd. It's calculated. There's always something hidden underneath it. And the world calls that intelligence.

But James says: there is another wisdom. One that doesn't rise — it descends. One that doesn't come from us — it comes from God.

And it looks nothing like the first kind.

The very first thing James says about it is this: it is pure. Before it is useful, before it is strategic, before it solves a single problem — it is clean. No hidden motive. No secret agenda. When you act from wisdom that comes from above, there is nothing underneath. What you see is what's there.

And then it is peaceable. Gentle. The wisest person in the room is rarely the loudest one. Wisdom from above lowers its voice. It listens. It has the patience to sit with someone else's pain without needing to fix everything, without needing the last word. It builds peace where there was tension.

Then it is open to reason — teachable, not defensive. And full of mercy. Not quick judgment, not easy condemnation — mercy. Good fruits. Because true wisdom never stays theoretical. It shows up at the dinner table. It shows up in the meeting at work. It shows up in how you treat the person who has nothing to offer you in return.

And finally — it is sincere. Impartial. Wisdom from above is the same in public and in private. You don't have to keep track of which version of yourself you showed to whom. Its test is consistency. It's you being you — clean and whole — because God is watching in both places.

My friend, this is not a list of admirable qualities to aspire to. This is a portrait of how God himself acts. It is the character of Christ — descending into the ordinary moments of your day.

And the question isn't whether you can be all of this at once. The question is: are you asking for this wisdom? Because James already said it, back in chapter one: if anyone asks God for wisdom, He gives it generously.

So here is what you do today — before breakfast, before the first text, before you see the first person: choose one mark from this verse. Just one. Pure. Peaceable. Gentle. Merciful. Pick one, and practice it on purpose in today's first conversation. Not because you've already arrived — but because you're asking, and you're moving like someone who believes God answers.

That is wisdom from above coming down into your morning.

Stay close to God. Pray — then act. I'll see you tomorrow, my friend.