Where Wisdom May Be Found
The sermon emphasizes the importance of seeking guidance from God through prayer and trusting in His salvation, rather than relying on human ingenuity and impetuous action.
C.H. Spurgeon emphasizes that true wisdom is found in prayer rather than in human counsel, illustrating how seeking God's guidance can lead to clarity and resolution in difficult situations. He reflects on personal experiences where reliance on God transformed confusion into understanding, highlighting the futility of overthinking and the importance of surrendering our troubles to God. Spurgeon encourages believers to trust in God's ability to straighten out the complexities of life, reminding them that sometimes the best action is to stand still and let God work.
Text
There is more wisdom in a quarter of an hour's prayer than there is in a quarter of a year's consultation with friends. Oftentimes when we have sought counsel of the living God he has befriended us. When we have left things with him, we have always gone wisely. Oh, how he can make the most crooked thing that ever did happen suddenly turn out to be the very straightest thing that ever occurred for our welfare. I know that sometimes I have puzzled my head about some difficulty in my Master's service -- asked opinions of lots of people, like a stupid, and I have gone home with any head aching in deeper uncertainty than ever what to do. And I have never discovered how to unravel a knotty point by my own ingenuity, but I have always found that when I at last bowed the knee, and said, "Heavenly Father, it is rather thy business than mine; it is quite beyond me, and I now leave it in thy hands to guide me," and when I have just put it up on the shelf, and said, "I will never take it down again whatever happens," it has gone all right. If I had maneuvered to manage it for myself it would have gone wrong enough.
You are often, dear friends, busy in doing yourself a mischief, when eager to do the right thing; so you do the wrong thing after all, as though there were a fatality about it. "Stand still and see the salvation of God." A hard lesson to learn, full often, and especially to impetuous spirits, as some of us are. But when it is learnt, if we continue to practice it, we shall find it the way of wisdom.
From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Blind Befriended," delivered March 9, 1876.
Sermon Outline
- I. The Folly of Seeking Wisdom from Men
- A. The limitations of human counsel
- B. The dangers of relying on human ingenuity
- II. The Wisdom of Seeking Guidance from God
- A. The benefits of prayer and seeking God's counsel
- B. The importance of trusting in God's guidance
- III. The Dangers of Impetuous Action
- A. The tendency to do the wrong thing in the name of doing the right thing
- B. The importance of standing still and trusting in God's salvation
Key Quotes
“There is more wisdom in a quarter of an hour's prayer than there is in a quarter of a year's consultation with friends.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Oh, how he can make the most crooked thing that ever did happen suddenly turn out to be the very straightest thing that ever occurred for our welfare.” — C.H. Spurgeon
“Stand still and see the salvation of God.” — C.H. Spurgeon
Application Points
- Take time to pray and seek God's guidance before making important decisions.
- Trust in God's salvation and guidance, rather than relying on your own ingenuity and impetuous action.
- Learn to stand still and wait on God, rather than rushing into action without His guidance.