Unexpected Wisdom

When we face crises in our lives, God can bring help to us - from a variety of sources. The Bible tells us that we can ask for wisdom, and that wisdom can come through the illumination of Scripture to our minds, perhaps a program or song on Faith Radio, or through people close to us. But, the fact is, God does not hide His wisdom from us. James 1 states:
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

A well-known actress recently told a story on her podcast of a rough spot through which she and her long-time husband had been walking.  The Faithwire website relates:

Candace Cameron Bure and her husband of nearly three decades, Valeri, might have called it quits had it not been for the Gospel-centered advice of one of their sons.

Their eldest son, Lev, wasn’t married in 2020, when the Bures endured the roughest patch of their marriage, but it didn’t stop him from sharing biblical wisdom with the famous couple.

The website notes that she shared that all three of her children - Lev, Maks and Natasha - had become involved, but "Lev was the one leading the charge...He came up to us and said, ‘We’d like to talk to you guys.’ Val and I sat down and Lev preached, like, a 45-minute sermon on marriage to us. Just had his Bible open on the couch and just talked about it.” She went on to say, "...I’ll never forget, ’cause he said, ‘You know, I know I haven’t been married. I’m just a young kid. And so it’s probably hard to take marriage advice from someone this young [who] never experienced it before. But I don’t need to be married to know what the Word of God says.'”

The story continues: Lev, who got married last year, according to his mother, "...looked us straight in the eye and individually asked me and then asked Val, ‘Have you done everything you can? Is there one step of grace, is there just some bit of more grace you can give? Is there one more act of kindness in you that you could give to try to reconcile?'” Bure recalled, reflecting, “When we walked away from that and Val and I were like, ‘Huh, we raised some pretty good kids.'”  Bure said that it was "a pivotal moment" in their marriage.

In this case, the article doesn't say what led up to the crisis or what steps that the Bures had taken to resolve the situation.  But it was dire, and God intervened in Candace and Valeri's marriage because He loved them.  And, He equipped Lev and his siblings to sit his parents down and speak truth to them.

God sent His messenger in the form of their son.  And, the message was clear and compelling. As Alemu Beeftu and I discussed the other day, we need to hear from God; we need Godly wisdom.  There are so many pressures we face and multiple voices that are vying for our attention, but it is Biblical truth that will show us a path forward.

But, it can be so easy to rely on one's own strength to work out the challenges of life.  We can pray for answers, but never really seek them.  And, then we can realize how the Lord loves us so much that He will answer our prayers, but maybe not in the way we expect.  Truth is, He goes beyond our expectations to provide His wisdom and strength.