Growing in Wisdom: Biblical Principles for a Successful Christian Life

Wisdom is the most vital key to navigating through the battles of life. I have come to understand this truth not just through studying the Scriptures, but through years of walking in ministry and seeing what happens when people live with wisdom and when they live without it. The difference is staggering.

Life will challenge you. There will be moments when you don't know which direction to take, when the pressure feels unbearable, and when it seems like nothing is working despite all your efforts. In those moments, wisdom becomes your greatest asset. It helps you make the right decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and walk in alignment with God's purpose for your life.

I have seen too many believers struggle for years, investing time, energy, and resources into things that produce no fruit. I have watched gifted people fall and ministries collapse, not because of lack of anointing, but because of lack of wisdom. This burden is what drives me to write today. Through my experience in ministry, God has taught me invaluable lessons about growing in wisdom, and I want to share them with you. My prayer is that what I share will help you avoid unnecessary pain and position you to live the successful, fulfilled life that God has designed for you

When you study the Scriptures from Genesis to Revelation, one thing becomes undeniably clear: God places extraordinary value on wisdom. It is woven throughout the entire Bible as a central theme that God emphasizes repeatedly. From the very beginning, we see wisdom at work in creation. Proverbs dedicates entire chapters to it. Solomon, the wisest king who ever lived, wrote extensively about its worth, declaring that wisdom is more precious than rubies and that nothing we desire can compare with it.

Yet somehow, we as believers have failed to grasp this truth. We have overlooked what God considers essential. We chase after anointing, miracles, and breakthroughs, but we neglect the very foundation that makes all of these things sustainable. We want the power, but we ignore the wisdom that governs how that power should be used.

This oversight has consequences. Without wisdom, believers find themselves trapped in cycles they cannot break. They repeat the same patterns, make the same mistakes, and wonder why their lives look the same year after year. It is not that God is withholding His blessing. It is that they are operating without the understanding needed to steward what God wants to give them.

This is why I wrote a book titled Running a Race Without Wisdom. In it, I walk you through the costly mistakes that prevent people from seeing the fruit of their labor and achieving what God has destined for them. You can purchase it from the book section of our website. It will help you identify where you may be running without direction and show you how to course-correct before more time is lost.

It is with tears and a great passion for the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in my heart that I write this article. I cannot sit quietly and watch people suffer needlessly when the solution is available. The rate of pain, frustration, and unfulfilled potential I see in the body of Christ grieves me deeply. So many are living far below what God intended for them, not because God is unwilling to help, but because they lack the wisdom to walk in what He has already provided.

This is not just theory for me. I have lived it. I have seen what happens when wisdom is present and when it is absent. I have watched lives transform and ministries flourish when people begin to apply godly wisdom. I have also witnessed the opposite: gifted, anointed people who crashed and burned because they refused to walk in wisdom.

My goal in writing this is simple. I want to reduce the suffering that comes from ignorance. I want to give you practical steps and a clear approach that will help you grow in wisdom so you can live the successful life God has called you to. This is not about religious talk or empty motivation. What I am about to share with you comes from the Scriptures and from real life lessons that have been tested and proven. These truths will not only build you up, but they will position you to live a fulfilled and fruitful life that honors God and blesses those around you.

To grow in wisdom, you must have reverence and the fear of the Lord. This is not optional. It is the absolute foundation upon which all true wisdom is built. The Bible makes this crystal clear throughout Scripture. Proverbs 9:10 tells us, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding." Job 28:28 says, "Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil is understanding." Psalm 111:10 declares, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding."

Notice the consistency. The fear of the Lord is not just one path to wisdom among many. It is the starting point. It is the foundation. Without it, everything else you try to build will be unstable.

But what does it mean to fear the Lord? It is not about being scared of God in a way that makes you want to run from Him. The fear of the Lord is a deep reverence, a holy respect, and an awareness of who God is. It means you take Him seriously. It means you recognize His authority over your life and you choose to honor Him in your decisions, your words, and your actions. It means you understand that He sees everything, knows everything, and that you will one day give an account for how you lived.

When you have this kind of fear, it changes how you approach life. You stop making careless decisions. You stop compromising with sin. You stop living as though your choices do not matter. Instead, you begin to seek God's heart in everything you do. You become careful, intentional, and obedient. And it is in this place of reverence that God begins to release wisdom into your life. He opens your understanding. He gives you insight that others do not have. He guides you in ways that protect you from destruction and position you for His blessing.

The Bible gives us powerful examples of men who grew in wisdom because they feared the Lord. Their wisdom was not accidental. It came directly from their reverence for God, and it helped them navigate through the complexities and challenges of life with success.

Let us look at Solomon. When God appeared to Solomon and asked him what he desired, Solomon could have asked for anything. He could have asked for wealth, power, long life, or victory over his enemies. But Solomon did not ask for any of these things. Instead, he asked for an understanding heart to judge God's people. Why? Because he feared mishandling divine responsibilities. He understood the weight of what God had called him to do, and he knew that without wisdom, he would fail. God was so pleased with Solomon's request that He not only gave him wisdom but also gave him the riches and honor he did not ask for. Solomon's fear of the Lord positioned him to receive what became legendary wisdom.

Then there is Joseph. Joseph's wisdom was rooted in his fear of God, especially in moments of temptation and responsibility. When Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him, Joseph could have given in. No one would have known. But Joseph responded with a question that revealed his heart: "How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?" His fear of God was greater than his desire for temporary pleasure. That same reverence guided him later when he was elevated to a position of authority in Egypt. His wisdom in managing resources and interpreting dreams came from a heart that honored God above all else.

We also see this in Daniel. Daniel grew in wisdom through consistent reverence for the Lord, even when it was dangerous to do so. He lived in a hostile culture that opposed righteousness. He was surrounded by people who worshiped false gods and promoted values that contradicted everything he believed. Yet Daniel refused to defile himself. He remained disciplined in prayer even when it meant facing the lions' den. He honored God publicly when others chose compromise. It was because of this unwavering reverence that God granted Daniel wisdom, understanding, and insight into mysteries that no one else could comprehend. Kings sought his counsel because they recognized that the wisdom he carried was beyond human capability.

These men teach us something vital. Wisdom does not come from intelligence alone. It does not come from education or experience by themselves. True wisdom flows from a heart that fears the Lord. When you reverence God, He opens your understanding and guides you in ways that lead to success and fulfillment.

There was a time in ministry when the Lord had called me, and one day while hearing His voice and standing right before His presence, He said, "Son, do not disappoint me in ministry." I was confused by this statement, so I asked Him, "How? What do you mean by this?" He responded, "Many have I called, but they disappointed me in ministry with the fruit of their own ways. So many went after fame, the love for money, and lust in the ministry, but I don't want you to end up like them. Let my gift be seen as salvation in your life and serve others properly with these gifts I have given to you. I want to build you never to run against your shadow so that you can become stable in ministry."

Those words shook me. The weight of what He said settled deep in my heart. I knew that this was not just a casual conversation. God was entrusting me with something precious, and He was warning me about the dangers that lay ahead. I could see the path that had destroyed others, and I did not want to walk it.

So I made a decision. Out of the fear and love I had for Him, I took it upon myself with an oath in my heart never to fail Him. I could see open visions and prophesy to people's lives the way I wanted, but my oath made me refuse to materialize the gift and the office over salvation. I chose to let the gift serve its true purpose rather than using it to build my own name or fill my pockets. That decision changed everything for me. It caused me to grow more in His grace, His anointing, and His power, all filled with the wisdom I needed to navigate through the battles of life.

In the process of time, I saw a lot of prophets who had started in ministry before me fall. These were men and women with genuine gifts, but they fell because they never had this reverence and fear for the Lord. They allowed ambition, greed, and compromise to creep in, and eventually, it destroyed them. I watched it happen again and again, and each time it reminded me why that oath I made was so important.

Let me encourage you today. Always learn to have reverence and fear for the Lord, and God will give you grace to grow in His wisdom. All it takes is a heart positioned for Him to manifest His grace. When you do this, I pray that your heart will be transformed to have reverence and fear for Him so that you can grow in wisdom in Jesus' name.

Another way to grow in wisdom is through the Word of God. A lot of believers think that the Word is all about opening the Bible to read and study, but it goes far beyond that. The Word of God reshapes how we think. Many people make foolish decisions not because they are evil, but because their thinking has been shaped by culture, emotions, and past experiences rather than the truth. When the Word of God is consistently studied and meditated upon, it renews the mind and teaches us how God sees life, relationships, suffering, success, and purpose.

I remember some years back while coming up in the ministry, I would always study and meditate on twenty chapters of the Bible in a day. After studying, I would meditate upon it day and night, and God used it to shape my life in ministry. It was not easy, but I was hungry for God, and I knew that if I wanted to grow, I had to immerse myself in His Word.

One day, when things were going normally and the Lord was training me in ministry, He appeared to me and said, "Son, you pray a lot, and there have been a lot of prophecies. From now henceforth, you will stop hearing me audibly and stop seeing the angels with open visions, but study my Word to see more of me." I thought it was a punishment. I could not understand why God would take away something so powerful and precious. But God was not punishing me. He was shaping my mentality and teaching me something I desperately needed to learn.

For one full year, I stopped seeing open visions and hearing God audibly. It was a year of silence, and honestly, it was one of the hardest seasons of my life. But within that year, I learned things that transformed my understanding of ministry and life. Let me share three critical lessons that God taught me during that season.

First, I learned that gifts can function without understanding. Spiritual gifts can operate by grace and not by maturity alone. This is why a person can prophesy, heal, or discern spirits and still lack biblical understanding. The gift works because God is gracious, not necessarily because the person is mature. The Word, however, trains the mind and anchors interpretation. Without it, the gift operates, but the vessel does not grow. This produces ministers who are accurate in revelation but poor in doctrine. They can tell you what God is saying, but they cannot explain why or teach you the principles behind it.

Second, I learned that the gift develops power, but the Word develops character. When the Word is neglected, character development is also neglected. The Word confronts pride, lust, greed, bitterness, and ambition, while the gift does not. God wanted me to understand that a prophet can hear God clearly and still struggle with basic obedience because the Word is what shapes conduct. This is why gifted people fall publicly. Their gift grew faster than their inner life, and eventually, the weight of influence exposed the cracks in their character.

Third, I learned that the gift alone cannot sustain long-term ministry. My eyes were opened to see that gifts attract attention, but wisdom sustains ministry. When the Word is absent, burnout, confusion, moral failure, or doctrinal drift eventually follow. The gift may open doors, but only the Word keeps them open. I saw this play out in the lives of many ministers. They started strong with powerful gifts, but because they did not build their lives on the Word, they could not endure the pressures that came with growth and influence.

That year of silence was God's mercy. He was protecting me from becoming another casualty. He was teaching me that while the gift is important, the Word is essential. If you want to grow in wisdom, you must commit yourself to the Word of God. Not just reading it casually, but studying it intentionally and meditating on it consistently. Let it shape your thoughts, correct your behavior, and guide your decisions. When you do this, you will not just operate in power. You will operate in wisdom, and that combination is what produces lasting impact.

Another way to grow in wisdom is through the company we keep and the environment we allow to influence us. Scripture consistently shows that wisdom is transferable. It flows through relationships, conversations, and repeated exposure. This is why the Bible warns that wrong association corrupts good character, while walking with the wise produces wisdom. You cannot surround yourself with foolishness and expect to grow in understanding. The voices you listen to, the people you spend time with, and the environments you place yourself in will either sharpen you or dull you.

Many believers pray for wisdom while remaining surrounded by voices that celebrate foolishness, compromise, and spiritual immaturity. Such environments can dull discernment. Even a sincere heart can struggle to grow when it is constantly influenced by noise, negativity, or counsel that contradicts God's truth. You have to be intentional about who you allow to speak into your life and where you invest your time.

At a young age, I naturally found myself around people older than me. From my secondary school days into the university, I did not really keep close company with my mates. It was not something I deliberately chose at first. It just happened, and over time, it became normal for me. While others felt comfortable moving in peer groups, I was often drawn to conversations and environments that felt ahead of my age. Now, when I look back, I can see clearly how much that season shaped the way I think and the wisdom I began to develop early.

Being around older people exposed me to perspectives I would not have picked up among my age group. I talked less and listened more. I paid attention to how decisions were made, how mistakes were handled, and how responsibility was taken seriously. I began to understand that life was deeper than excitement and momentary pleasure, and that choices always come with consequences. Those everyday conversations quietly shaped my thinking.

In secondary school, while many of my peers were caught up in trends and short-term thrills, I was learning patience, restraint, and reflection without even realizing it. I started seeing life beyond the moment. It did not make me better than anyone else, but it did set me apart. I matured mentally faster than I understood at the time.

By the time I got to the university, this pattern was already part of me. I still did not fit neatly into peer circles. Instead, I found myself drawn to mentors, older friends, and spaces where conversations went beyond jokes and complaints. I was exposed early to counsel, correction, and accountability, and those influences helped me avoid many mistakes that youthful impulsiveness often brings.

The lesson here is simple but powerful. If you want to grow in wisdom, be intentional about your associations. Surround yourself with people who are wiser than you, who have walked further than you, and who can speak truth into your life even when it is uncomfortable. Avoid environments that pull you down or distract you from your purpose. Seek out mentors, listen to godly counsel, and position yourself in places where growth is valued. Wisdom is not just something you pray for. It is something you position yourself to receive through the relationships and environments you choose.

Growing in wisdom is not a one-time event. It is a lifelong journey that requires intentionality, discipline, and surrender to God. The principles I have shared with you in this article are not theories. They are truths that have been proven in my own life and in the lives of countless others who have chosen to walk this path.

You have a choice before you today. You can continue living the way you have always lived, hoping that things will somehow change on their own. Or you can make a decision right now to pursue wisdom with everything in you. You can choose to fear the Lord, immerse yourself in His Word, and surround yourself with people who will sharpen you and push you toward your God-given destiny.

Wisdom will cost you something. It will cost you comfort, convenience, and sometimes even popularity. But what it gives you in return is worth far more than what you sacrifice. It gives you direction when others are confused. It gives you stability when others are shaken. It gives you favor when others are overlooked. It positions you to walk in the fullness of what God has prepared for you.

I want to leave you with this: do not waste another year living below what God intended for you. The answers you have been searching for are found in wisdom. The breakthroughs you have been praying for will come when you begin to apply godly wisdom to every area of your life. Start today. Make the decision to grow. Commit yourself to the fear of the Lord, to the Word, and to the right associations. As you do, I believe that God will open your eyes, sharpen your discernment, and lead you into a life of fruitfulness and fulfillment that glorifies His name.

May the Lord grant you wisdom, and may you walk in it all the days of your life. Amen.