It’s easy to see that wisdom is a good thing. The wasted time, the squandered finances, the missed opportunities, the damaged relationships, the broken hearts – that could have all been avoided with a little wisdom! Too often the right course becomes blindingly obvious right after the disaster. Oh for a little wisdom before we went ahead and stuck our foot in it.

But wisdom isn’t just a product of experience. You don’t have to make every mistake in the world in order to finally wise up. Neither is it a result of old age. Wrinkles are a result of old age, but not necessarily wisdom. And here’s the real shocker – wisdom has nothing to do with intelligence either! It’s not that some people are just born with it while the rest of us are doomed to fumble about in a stupor. There are a lot (a lot!) of highly intelligent and educated people who still make foolish decisions every day! And it probably goes without saying that if you are looking for wisdom, don’t ask a rich celebrity!

Here’s the key – wisdom is a gift from God. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul lists it in 1 Corinthians 12: “for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit.” In other words, if you just follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, he will always lead you to do what is wise. This is tremendous! It means that real, godly wisdom is available to anyone. If you are eligible for salvation, you’re eligible for wisdom! If you qualify to be loved by God, then you are qualified to walk in supernatural wisdom.

So how do you get some?

1. You must have a relationship with the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of faith. If you believe in Jesus and have made him Lord of your life, then the Holy Spirit is there. And if we have the Holy Spirit in our lives then we have all of God’s phenomenal wisdom available to us 24/7.

2. You need to hear from the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of time. After all, he is a person, not a doctrine! He talks to us all the time. But God’s wisdom doesn’t come to us in one huge download. It comes bit by bit, word by word, occasion by occasion, as we need it. A nudge, an intuition, an inexplicable caution… it just takes regular time with God (and a lot of self-discipline!) to tune your spiritual ears to his voice. But it is so worth it.

3. You need to obey the Holy Spirit. This is a matter of attitude. A habitual attitude of trust and willingness to obey makes it easy for God to lead you in wisdom. Get in the habit of just asking for help all the time: “Lord show me what to do here. Father, what do I say? Lead me through this, Jesus…” And so on. And as you follow the pathways of wisdom you will find the fruit of wisdom.