by Kenneth Copeland
I once saw a bumper sticker on an old pickup truck that read, “Wise Men Still Seek Him.”
That sure is true. And, this Christmas, I think it’s a good time to talk about why seeking God is wise.
If you look at any Nativity scene, you’ll see a group of three men on camels, wearing priestly clothing. Religious tradition refers to them as the “three wise men,” though the Bible never indicates a specific number. But, what do we really know about this group who were among the first to seek Jesus after His birth?
We are first introduced to these people, known as the Magi, in Daniel 2:2. They were in the court of the king because they were considered to be the most educated people in the land. Known as Chaldeans in Babylon, they were a special group of priests who were experts in philosophy, science and astronomy. The wise men seeking Jesus would have descended from these people, known for their great intellect.
But, many others besides this group of wise men had also heard this information. The prophecy was very well known by the Jews and their leaders. So, what made the wise men different than so many others? Matthew 2:2, NKJV, says: Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him.”
The wise men had opened their hearts to receive revelation from God, and then acted in faith on what He had revealed to them. They sought to worship Him, which means they had already determined that He was the Messiah.
That’s wisdom. Taking knowledge and allowing God to show you how to put it into operation. That’s what the Magi were doing when they set out to seek Jesus—putting their knowledge into operation through God-given insight.
The Jews had their Messiah right in front of them, yet because of the hardness of their hearts, they did not seek Him or receive Him. The wise men were seekers of truth, and did not allow customs, reasoning or objections from others to block their pursuit of it.
So, what can we learn about wisdom from these “wise men”? I think there are three things we can learn: Wisdom seeks truth, wisdom goes to great trouble to find God, and wisdom obeys God rather than man.
- Wisdom Seeks Truth
The wise men had spent much of their lives seeking for answers—perhaps even for meaning and purpose in their lives. They clearly had a hunger for truth, which likely inspired them to spend a great deal of time studying the coming of the Savior.
In Matthew 2:6, they also revealed that they knew of the prophecy of Christ’s birth. They had clearly invested time to find out more about what God had said.
If we want to walk in wisdom, we must also be seekers of truth—God’s truth. Proverbs 4:13, NKJV, says, “Take firm hold of instruction, do not let go; keep her, for she is your life.”
First Corinthians 3:18 tells us not to judge our wisdom or intelligence by the standards of this world. We need to find our instruction in The WORD of God—that’s where truth is found.
- Wisdom Goes to Great Effort to Find God
The wise men likely traveled a great distance to find Jesus. This would have come at great personal expense, as well as an investment of time. The trip may have been dangerous to themselves, their animals and those who accompanied them. They were willing to put seeking God ahead of themselves or any other interest.
There is no way around it. If we want to operate in the wisdom of God, we must put Him first in our lives. The most powerful thing we can do in life is take the time to seek God with all our hearts without compromise.
Every believer who truly wants to follow God must make this declaration: “I am going to live by The WORD of God. Whatever I find in The WORD, that’s what I’m going to do!”
This is what it means to walk in the fear of The LORD. And when we do that, He’ll begin to reveal truths to us—even things no one else has ever seen before. That is how the goodness of God begins to flow into our lives.
Every time we get up in the morning, we should see God’s goodness manifested all around us—in our homes, in our children, in our relationships with our spouses, in the cars we drive, and in the clothes we wear.
That good place is available to you. God wants to reveal His wisdom for living abundantly and victoriously to you.
- Wisdom Obeys God Rather Than Man
When the wise men had been searching for Jesus, they came in contact with Herod. When Herod heard the purpose of their journey, he instructed them to come back and tell him where he could find Jesus. They could have been intimidated by this powerful figure, known for merciless acts. Instead, they put the word from The LORD first.
“Then, being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way” (Matthew 2:12, NKJV).
The wisdom of God will reveal things to you that you wouldn’t otherwise know. Sometimes it will be for your protection and sometimes it will be for your promotion.
“For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand” (Mark 4:22-23).
It’s important that we have “ears to hear” what God is saying to us through His WORD. We must keep The WORD in our mouths and “be listening” to His voice so we can “perceive and comprehend” the mysteries of His wisdom.
We need to be vigilant about what we allow our ears to hear. If we’re hearing trash, we can’t help but get trash down into our hearts. If we put unholy things before our eyes, the desire for sinful things will grow in our hearts. In Psalm 101:2-3, David says, “I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart. I will set no worthless thing before my eyes” (NASB).
That’s why we must be careful what we’re hearing—because unbelief comes the same way faith comes—by hearing!
There is simply no other way to live free, blessed, well and supernaturally prosperous in the earth but to keep The WORD of God before our eyes, in our ears and “in the center of our heart.” This is how we obtain the treasure of God’s wisdom.
Enjoy the Benefits of Wisdom This Christmas
There are wonderful benefits that belong to anyone who will take hold of God’s wisdom. That’s why Proverbs 4:7, KJV, says, “Wisdom is the principal thing….” That means it’s the most important thing—the main thing you should want.
Wisdom is what will get you off the roller coaster of having your healing, then feeling symptoms again. Getting a great job, then losing a job. To solve your problems, you need wisdom!
How many times have you prayed and failed to receive your answer? I can tell you it wasn’t because God missed it! The WORD of God says you ask and receive not because you ask amiss (James 4:3). You need wisdom to ask for the right thing.
That means you need God’s thoughts about the situation before you can pray effectively.
So let The WORD of God, the wisdom of God, begin to influence your thinking. God’s way of thinking will save your life, pull you out of debt, and put you on the road to prosperity. It will introduce you to possibilities you have never seen before and get you out of any trouble—just like it did for those wise men 2,000 years ago.
Dare to Shine His Light on Wisdom This Christmas!
- Have you made wisdom the principal thing? Invest the time in His WORD each day to seek God and His infinite wisdom.
- Ask God to give you wisdom in all your ways, according to James 1:5, and He will give it to you!
- Do a search for all the verses in the Bible with the word wisdom, then study and meditate on those truths.
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