Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life and the time it takes to get to work.

I'm Tanya Wilmuth. When was the last time you lie awake at night, replaying the events of the day,

wishing that you could take back something you said, wishing you could undo a decision

that you made. And as that happens, your mind traces down this rabbit trail to all the impacts

that that word or that action had on someone else. And it can feel anywhere from embarrassing to

emotionally intolerable, especially in the middle of the night.

We think if only we knew then what we know now. Now this kind of reflection, well, I mean,

it can be good for us sometimes. It can be good when our reflection leads us to repentance.

It can be good when our failures lead us to increase dependence on God.

But if we let these things only give us regret and shame, then we'll likely not grow from our mistakes.

Trading foolishness for wisdom is something we all want to do. We want to make wiser choices in the moment. We want to be less

foolish, and we want to suffer fewer consequences for our actions. So how do we exchange foolishness

for wisdom? This is the topic we're going to explore today as we talk about Saul and his son,

Jonathan. If the path to wisdom were synonymous with age and

experience, then Saul would be wiser than his son. If the path to wisdom were linear, always moving

toward fewer failures, we wouldn't see someone older do the foolish thing while the younger

acted in wisdom. But the path to wisdom is paved with things we

try to avoid. It's paved with suffering, with need, with dependence, even failure. These are

reminders that we are not our own saviors. These are reminders that we need a rescuer. These are the

reminders that God is the vine. We are the branches, and we must cling to him.

We grow in wisdom when we recognize our need and when we recognize God's power and God's

mercy. So remember Saul was Israel's king and he carried a lot of responsibility on his shoulders.

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