A Gift You Must Desire

Daily Devotional, Thursday, April 15, 2021

All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.

1 Chronicles 12:32 (NLT)

As a child, I was amazed at how accurately our elders could predict rainfall patterns. They relied on generational wisdom. They had mastered the art of reading signs on land and in the sky.

In David’s time, a group of such people joined his army during the conflict with King Saul. “From the tribe of Issachar, there were 200 leaders of the tribe with their relatives” (1 Chronicles 12: 32).

This verse continues, “All these men understood the signs of the times and knew the best course for Israel to take.” Some commentators say that these were astronomers who also had political discernment.

The sons of Issachar were valiant fighters, but they gave David another advantage. They understood the present and the future and the right actions to take at all times.

If our political leaders had a little of this trait, fewer people would die from natural and man-made disasters like floods and famines, respectively.

If the church of God had this characteristic, the world would have been evangelized and Christ would have returned by now.

How differently would you live if you understood God’s methods of communicating with you? Would your life be the same if you knew the right thing to do at any time?

Well, this trait is not inherited. It is called divine wisdom. Anyone can acquire it. “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.” (James 1:5 – NKJV).

Lord, please give me wisdom to understand the times I am living in and the best action to take.