Do you wonder how you can make a difference in the world when you feel like just an ordinary person? In her book, I Want It All: Exchanging Your Average Life for Deeper Faith, Greater Power, and More Impact (David C. Cook, 2016), songwriter Gwen Smith (@GwenSmithMusic) says God created you for exceptional impact, power, and blessings. She encourages readers not to dismiss God’s plans for their lives.

Gwen says God created us to join Him in doing amazing work in the world and that he created us to live with abundant joy, courage, and influence: his grace for each failure, his love that shatters hate, his peace that soothes the turmoil, his comfort, guidance, wisdom, rest, power, and significance. She says every blessing God has for us is ours for the taking.

[Sign up for the free email devotional Girlfriends in God, with contributions by Gwen Smith]

The following article is an excerpt from I Want It All: Exchanging Your Average Life for Deeper Faith, Greater Power, and More Impact (David C. Cook, 2016) by Gwen Smith.

3 Ways to Wisdom

Wisdom isn’t always going to smack us upside the head with obviousness. Often the gap is huge, but sometimes the line between godly wisdom and worldly wisdom is thin. So how can godly wisdom become our go-to outfit for any occasion? How can we gain wisdom?

According to Proverbs, wisdom is a treasure we must search for: “Look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God” (Prov. 2:4–5). And just as every good treasure hunt includes a map and an X that marks the spot, the Word of God shows every treasure-hungry heart where she can find the rich blessings of true wisdom.

Here are three of my go-to principles for gaining wisdom:

1. Fear God.
2. Ask God.
3. Seek godly counsel.

Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

1. Fear God
Proverbs 1:7 tells us, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to be afraid. Case in point. I was a tween with pimples; long, lanky limbs; and an attitude the summer our family went to Ohio to visit friends of my parents who lived on a farm. I didn’t much care if these people were nice. I didn’t much care what we would eat for breakfast, lunch, or even dinner. It wasn’t the beach, and I wasn’t overly thrilled to be in Ohio for a vacation. (No offense, Ohio people.) But I had heard they had horses, and that calmed my grump a good bit because, truth be told, I was giddy to ride one.

I just knew I was born to ride! My cousin Beth had horses, but up to that point, she hadn’t had the chance to teach me the ropes. Finally I would have my chance.

The sun danced with a summer breeze the morning we journeyed past the barn out into the pasture for our horse adventure. It was beautiful. A perfect day for an eager girl to do something new and exciting.

I got a quick bit of instructions, and then I mounted the saddled creature, grabbed the reins, and ventured out into the grassy fields. All by my big-tween-girl self.

Freedom met me in the tall grass as Butterscotch and I became fast friends.

We walked. We cantered. We even galloped! I was so good at this!

And then I turned him around, back toward his owner and the barn, and Butterscotch got his run on in a fierce way.

Scared. Me. To. Death.

I didn’t know what to do. I screamed, dropped the reins, and held on to the horn of the saddle for dear life. The owner was waving her hands trying to tell me what to do, but she sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher, and the moment was blurry mayhem.

Then when I was sure we would crash into the barn, causing me to meet Jesus way too young, Butterscotch came to a halt.

And I went inside to change my pants. (Joking.)

I was so scared that I collapsed into an ugly cry. Couldn’t even control my emotions. And on that day, one thing became crystal clear to me: I do not like to be afraid.

Seriously.

If I see a snake, a mouse, or a spider (generally anything with more or fewer legs than I have), chances are I’m going to run the other way screaming louder than a middle-school girl at a Taylor Swift concert. Why? Because those creatures freak me out. It’s an unsettling kind of fear. And remember? I don’t like to be afraid.

Yet the Bible says we are to fear the Lord.

Come again? How does this make sense?

I’ve come to understand that the fear of the Lord is a good kind of fear; it’s a righteous fear. The best kind. When God says we are to fear Him, He’s saying we are to be in awe of Him, to revere Him as the One who dwells in unapproachable light. To recognize Him as the eternal eminence who sits on the throne of grace and lovingly welcomes us to encounter Him intimately as we worship.

I fear God when I reflect on His greatness, when I whisper, “Good job on that flower, God!” when I trace the jawline of my sleeping, whiskered man-child and give thanks to the loving Creator who created him. I fear God by giving Him the honor, esteem, and adoration due Him. In good times and bad. I fear God by recognizing that He is God and I am not. I fear God by understanding that all of the power in heaven and on earth is His. And in doing so, I’m ushered into a fresh beginning. To the greatest resource of power. To a starting gate that opens wide to knowledge, wisdom, and instruction—all of which are worth far more than any understanding this world offers.

Straight up: The world is a faction of fools who laugh at godly wisdom. It whispers venom to our souls …

“You don’t have to pay attention to God.”

“Do things your way.”

“More! You need more!”

“It’s okay to watch that raunchy movie or read that trashy novel.”

Blah. Blah. Blah …

No thank you, world. I’ve got a mad crush on my God, and I don’t need your misguided direction. The fear of the Lord leads me to wisdom in a beautifully sacred way. And that’s a fear worth running toward full force.

The second thing we need to do to gain wisdom is to ask God for it.

2. Ask God
Four years ago we installed a new bathroom sink in our downstairs powder room. While I love the way it looks, I haven’t loved the way it works, because the water pressure has been a dreary drizzle.

I asked Brad if he could fix the water pressure a few times. Let me say this: My man is awesome at a million and one things. He’s super smart and a great help around the house, but the man has almost no plumbing experience. Being the great guy he is, he dutifully checked what he knew to check on the faucet but had no success.

Then one day a plumber came to our house to install a new kitchen sink. While he worked, he and my husband chatted away. After he and the plumber had become new besties, Brad casually mentioned that we had an issue with the water pressure in our downstairs powder room.

Once the kitchen sink was installed, the plumber asked to see the bathroom sink. Within thirty seconds, he not only identified our four-year-old problem, but he fixed it!

In thirty seconds!

It was a simple filter problem. Our filter had been clogged. For four years.

He unscrewed the tip of our faucet and rinsed out the filter, and then put it back in place. Problem solved. The water flows perfectly now.

The sink is the same sink, and the faucet is the same faucet, but now they work great because we finally asked the right person about our problem! The plumber knew all about sinks, and he knew just what needed to be done.

Hello!

It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out where I’m going with this, right? We need to take our problems and our questions to the One with the answers. We need to ask God first. He can give us the wisdom we need.

I mess up on this all the time! I look to other people for help with my problems instead of first asking God. Don’t we all do this? We go to our friends, we ask our husbands, and often we ask Google! All of which can be good and valid sources for knowledge and direction. It’s easy, however, to go to the phone before we go to the throne, isn’t it? We run to people who possess limited knowledge and subjective opinions. Don’t get me wrong. People can be great resources for wisdom. They just cannot be our first resource.

If you and I are looking for answers, direction, or wisdom, we need to go to God first. He is the source of all wisdom, all knowledge, all understanding—all that we need. Imagine what our lives would look like if we always asked God for help first. We could avoid so many troubles and gain great vision, clarity, and direction. It’s for a good reason that we’re told to “pray continually” (1 Thess. 5:17).

I can almost hear you muttering, “Duh!” under your breath on this one. Yes. It’s simple … in concept. The implementation of this discipline, however, isn’t always our default response. For example, a friend starts to talk to you about that person who has her panties all up in a wad. What’s your default? Do you automatically ask God for wisdom, or do you join in on the ungodly chatter? You know this type of stuff happens all the time! It does in my life. I’m learning that my best response is the silent prayer, Lord! I need Your wisdom here! And I zip my lip until He leads my response.

Most of us who have been Christians for any length of time aren’t just familiar with this verse; we know it by heart: “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5 ESV). Did you see that? When we lack wisdom—which we all do at times—we simply need to ask God for it. And He’s generous with it!

Note that this verse does not say that He will give you wisdom if you’ve spent at least twenty minutes a day reading your Bible for the past week … or if you commit five hours a day to homeschooling your eleven kids … or if you’ve prayed through your entire rosary. It says that you need to just ask for it. You don’t need to earn it.

What a beautiful reminder that no matter what we’re going through, no matter what we’ve done, as children of God we always have access to the promised power of wisdom. All we have to do is ask.

3. Seek Godly Counsel
We’ve established that God always needs to be our go-to guy when it comes to counsel. Our first call. But the Bible also gives us the directive to connect with other Christ followers for guidance: “The LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless” (Prov. 2:6–7). The third way we can put on our little black dress of faith and find wisdom is by seeking godly counsel.

When I make an effort to seek godly counsel, I benefit from the power of the Lord that is at work in the lives of those around me. I benefit from their mistakes and from their successes. And it frees me from the pressure of having to figure everything out on my own. It frees me to move forward beyond my own limited experiences, faith, and knowledge.

Struggling with a tough work situation? Tangled up in a messy marriage knot? Are you being held captive by fear, doubt, and insecurity? Get some godly counsel. Proverbs tells us, “Without counsel plans fail, but with many advisers they succeed” (Prov. 15:22 ESV).

My husband is a wise man, and God has placed him as the head of our home, so I like to talk through difficult things with him. He gives me a perspective that’s often quite different from mine. When I need to hash out confusion, I sometimes go to the small group of women I call my besties. They are godly. They love me. They like me. They laugh at and with me. They pray for me. They mentor me and provide counsel.

We’re all in different seasons of life and have different needs for godly wisdom. I am a poppy, you are a rose, she is a daisy—we are a wildflower bouquet! If you’re single, divorced, or widowed, you might be the head of your home. If so, you could connect with a pastor for godly counsel, or a trusted friend who follows hard after Jesus, or a godly family member or coworker. Another person I encourage you to reach out to is the women’s ministry director of your church. Grab coffee or lunch with her. She will love you!

There are many ways you can gain wisdom and add greater power to your life. Add to this list as you discover what works for you. Are you a journal girl? Write about the areas in which you need God’s wisdom. Write a prayer in your journal that spells them out in black and white. Pursue the treasure!

And here’s a wonky twist: sometimes God answers our prayers for wisdom by sending us to talk with someone who doesn’t even follow Him but has the knowledge we need. When our son Preston broke his jaw and needed reconstructive surgery, Brad and I got counsel from a highly trained oral and maxillofacial surgeon. We prayed for the Lord to lead each decision we made and to guide the hands and choices of the surgical team, but our medical counsel came straight from the medical expert. His faith had nothing to do with it. Though that medical advice may or may not have come from a follower of Christ, Brad and I prayed for the Lord to lead with His wisdom in, on, and through it all.

God’s Word promises that He will walk you to the understanding you need. Just ask. I know you want His leading as much as I do.

So when life gets crazy confusing, remember that you can gain clarity and power when you fear God, ask Him for wisdom, and surround yourself with godly people of wise counsel. In doing so, you’ll find yourself perfectly fitted with a little black dress of faith. (Dance party!)

If you and I really want it all, then we have to want every ounce of wisdom God will give us. Ultimately, the Bible tells us that the treasure of wisdom is hidden in Christ. The apostle Paul inspired the church of Colossae with these words:

My goal is that they [believers] may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (Col. 2:2–3 NIV)

The wisdom you long for is hidden in Jesus. He is your treasure. In searching for all of Jesus, you gain all the wisdom and knowledge of God.

Run after Him, friend. Make this wisdom chase—this Jesus chase—your very own. Because when you run hard after Jesus, you’ll begin to experience all the power God has for you.

The above excerpt is from I Want It All: Exchanging Your Average Life for Deeper Faith, Greater Power, and More Impact (David C. Cook, 2016). Copyright © 2016 by Gwen Smith. Used by permission of David C. Cook. www.DavidCCook.com. All rights reserved. Taken from Chapter 7.

Bio: Gwen Smith is the author of Broken into Beautiful: How God Restores The Wounded Heart and contributor to Knowing God by Name and Trusting God, a gifted songwriter, and a sought-after speaker, and worship leader. Gwen is also the co-founder of Girlfriends in God (@TweetWithGiG), a conference and devotional ministry. She and her husband, Brad, have three teenagers and live in Charlotte, North Carolina.