For the LORD grants wisdom!  From his mouth come knowledge and understanding. (Proverbs 2:6 NLT)

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about God’s wisdom.  When we were back in the US, even though I knew I needed God’s wisdom daily, situations often didn’t seem as complex and it seemed I could figure my way through them.  Life in cross-cultural ministry seems more complicated. Between figuring out how to make language study a priority even though there are many other good things that I could be doing (or feel like others might be expecting me to be doing), interactions with teammates (many people don’t realize that this can often be just as difficult as interactions with the nationals), trying to find new balances in our marriage because of having a new lifestyle and living in a new culture, and trying to exercise servanthood while at the same time wanting to have some sort of control over my life… there is lots to think through. Many times I feel so green behind the ears that I feel like I just have no idea how to sort through a situation.  Other small things like using the appropriate courtesies when dealing with the Japanese (when and how often I should bow, whether saying thank you or excuse me is more appropriate in a given instance, how to seem modest when receiving a compliment) or how to interpret what is implied behind what little Japanese I can understand or the person’s body language (the Japanese rarely say things directly) also call for God-given discernment.

As I’ve been thinking about the verse above, it has been a blessing to remember that in each situation, no matter how small or complex it is, God knows what the right response is.  He understands the circumstance completely and has the wisdom to respond to it.  I have called on Him for wisdom a number of times lately and have been grateful for the direction He’s given.  I’m sure this is an ongoing process, one that I will have many opportunities to perfect.  Colby and I have appreciated your prayers on our behalf.

Pray that God would give us wisdom for the various situations we encounter.  Pray that we would respond appropriately when interacting with the various people and that we would be “seasoned with salt” (see Colossians 4:5-6) as we build relationships with non-Christian Japanese.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 2nd, 2009 at 2:50 pm and is filed under Life in Cross-Cultural Ministry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.