Wisdom is what we need in the time of trails. At least this was what James in his letter to the earlier church thought so. In trails, wisdom is especially needed so that we will be able to respond rightly. So, James exhorts us to pray and ask God for wisdom should we lack it. In Ecclesiastes, we can see that wisdom is also needed so that a person will know how to distinguish between exercising authority and abusing power. In Ecclesiastes 8:1 are two rhetorical questions pertaining to wisdom. Solomon asked, “Who is like the wise? And who knows the interpretation of a thing?” At first glance, they appear as if he was suggesting that no one can have wisdom. That accounts for why some people insist that these questions presuppose a negative answer. They imagine the answer should be: “there is no one who is wise, no not one.” This interpretation, however, makes the second part of this verse hard to explain.
A deeper reflection tells us that Solomon would not have suggested how to identify wisdom if he thought that there was no one on earth that could be wise. In the second half of this verse, he insisted that wisdom would make a person’s face lit up. Furthermore, he said, it would make a person’s stern face appear gentler. It is likely that he wasn’t saying that there is no wise man on earth but that wise men are rare and hard to find. This, of course, is true. A case in mind is Daniel the prophet. The Bible tells us how outstandingly wise he was. The Lord had endowed him with great wisdom to interpret great mystery, especially the mystery of the unknown to man. Daniel’s countenance also affirmed what the second of this verse said is true. Throughout his service in Babylon, regardless of which king he was serving, he had never spotted a dejected, God-forsaken face. His face was ever beaming with a smile of grace, no matter how trying his circumstances were.
Haven’t we seen a believer in the Lord whom we do not know and almost instantly we can tell that he is a believer. We can tell from his countenance that there is just simply something different about him or her. People who embrace a deep relationship with Christ have made a wise choice, such that their wisdom is clearly displayed on their God-trusting face. People who do not know Christ wear a frown in the face of tough circumstances. This is the reason, Solomon contrasted the hardened face of a sinner with the wise, God-trusting person’s, as showing a positive smiley persona.
No one can claim to have a life harder than Paul the Apostle. None of us has suffered like he did. Hear his description of it in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” Yet almost near the end of his journey, he wrote to the Philippians, exhorting the believers to rejoice. Our joyful faces in the midst of trials will make a difference in our witness for the Lord. Who can ever be attracted by a grumpy face? God wants to make His face shine on us and give us peace. When we have Christ, our face should be radiant and shine with the grace of God. Shine for Him with His wisdom!
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