NECESSARY BITTERNESS?
Many years ago, when I entered military service, I underwent a series of rigorous training and exercises to prepare for my duty assignment. With boot camp, trade school, and formal schooling, I spent almost 2 years of preparation before being deployed to my first duty station.
Despite all that training, when I got out there, it was different. The training wheels were off, the instructors were gone, the mentors were gone, my training buddies were gone – I was there alone. I realized that all that knowledge had not been tested by the real world. I awakened to what it meant to be the proverbial newbie.
My knowledge was missing experience. This combination of knowledge and experience is known as wisdom. Wisdom is defined as knowledge combined with the expertise to apply that knowledge effectively. Knowledge, by itself, reveals just how much we don’t know about our profession. Experience teaches us how to utilize what we do know and the limits of that knowledge.
One of the most famous people in the Bible is King Solomon. He was known throughout the ancient world for his wisdom and wealth. But even he found out firsthand how scary it can be to be the newbie. When his father died, the young man was crowned king, and instantly all authority rested on him. As the newly appointed king, he now realized the whole nation and government rested on his shoulders. He was the proverbial newbie, so he cried out to God for help.
2 Chronicles 1:9-10 “… O LORD God … for thou hast made me King over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. Give me now wisdom and knowledge …” (KJV translation)
In response, God granted him the wisdom in abundance, and he had a highly successful career. After 20 years on the job, he became one of the wealthiest and most powerful kings in the ancient world. The writer of the New Testament, James, reflected on this event and wrote to his readers that God gives liberally to those who ask for true wisdom.
James 1:5 “…If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally … and it shall be given him…” (KJV translation)
As this year comes to a close, we all share one thing in common. Regardless of our tradecraft, our walk in life, or our faith journey, we are all more experienced today than we were a year ago. We are all more knowledgeable and have a greater understanding than we did a year ago. Therefore, we can take comfort in knowing that we are wiser and safer today than we were a year ago.
As we approach the end of this calendar year, let us take a moment to reflect on our victories and successes from this year. In like manner, take a moment to acknowledge and learn from our shortcomings for the explicit purpose of becoming better at what we do. By taking this moment of reflection, and thus learning, we can confidently declare that this was a successful year, and we can take joy in it. May God bless us with many more successful years to come.
– Chaplain Cliff Foster
Prayer: Our Father, who governs the heavens and earth, we praise thy name, and we bow before you this day to pray. We call upon this biblical promise that you will grant liberally to those who will humbly ask for wisdom, so we stop and call on thee to ask for wisdom. Give us grace and wisdom to successfully perform the duties set before us and fight the righteous fight. Amen.