Can We Meet Wisdom Before the Fall?

The best way to learn in life is through experience, right?

I've always been the girl who prided herself on learning from her mistakes. I take the wrong turn, I mess up, I fall—but I always grow.

But lately, I’ve been wondering...

Can wisdom meet us before the fall?
Is it possible to grow without suffering?
Is suffering fated or self-inflicted?

A Lesson from the Road

The other day I was driving and entered my destination into the GPS. It told me the fastest route, but when I saw traffic ahead, I got impatient. I chose another road, thinking, "Surely this will be quicker."

But when the GPS rerouted, my arrival time got pushed back—and I hit even more traffic. It wasn’t a huge delay, but it reminded me of something deeper.

Maybe wisdom isn’t just birthed from pain, but found in the pause—in the space between hearing God and choosing to trust Him.

God is like a satellite. He sees what I can’t. Even though I know the GPS is always going to choose the quickest route for me, I still chose my own way.

Why?

Because of pride.
Because of impatience.
Because… well, free will.

True Wisdom: Discernment Before the Fall

So maybe wisdom isn’t something we gain after the fall.
True wisdom is the discernment to avoid unnecessary suffering.
It lives in the still moment before the decision is made—and sometimes it’s choosing the road that doesn’t make sense to us.

I used to always choose the hardest path with the most suffering because I believed that’s where growth lived. I conditioned myself to think: If I’m suffering, at least it’s for something... right? Because otherwise, what would be the point?

But as I shift out of survival mode, I’m learning that I don’t always have to suffer to grow. Sometimes, growth is actually found in quiet surrender.

Obedience vs Disobedience

Here’s the paradoxical thing about growth:

A lot of the time we’re presented with opportunities—and if we don’t put ourselves in uncomfortable positions, we’ll never grow, right?

I’m not saying God tells us to always choose the safer option, but we often get stuck in analysis paralysis and end up choosing nothing at all.

If we’re presented with two options:

• One road is the path of the unknown—the path of obedience.

• The other is the road we think is good, fast, or comfortable —the road of disobedience.

And let’s say we choose disobedience—like I did with the GPS.
We may still reach the destination, maybe just a little late, with frustration along the way.

But it got me thinking...

Is this how God feels?

He gave us free will because He loves us.
He’s not a God who forces us into relationship. He wants a genuine connection with us.

Even when we choose a path apart from Him—He still graces us.
He still allows us to see fruit, blessings, and favor along the way.

But the difference is: when we choose obedience, we may avoid unnecessary suffering He’s trying to protect us from—simply because He loves us.

A New Perspective

When I started to understand that my heavenly Father loves me enough to protect me as His beloved daughter, it made me realise two things:

1. God is always faithful and gracious, even when we don’t obey Him.
   He still blesses us, and we still learn.

2. True wisdom can be found in the pause before the fall.

It’s found in the time we spend alone with God—where we grow a discerning heart, ear, mind, and spirit to know what He wants for us, not just what we think is good for us.

I’m sharing this because I almost made a mistake.

Like I said at the beginning of this blog—I’m not afraid of making mistakes.
I’ve always been transparent about the ones I’ve made.
Most of all, I’ve prided myself on taking accountability and moving forward with a changed heart.

And yes, I’ll continue to make mistakes.

But now there’s a new perspective.
One that brings me so much peace…

I don’t have to suffer in order to grow.
There is growth in not knowing, in surrendering, and in pausing to choose the path that scares me—not in a way that costs me my peace, but in a way that stretches my faith.

Because here’s the truth:

Any decision ordained by the will of God should bring you the most peace—but also a level of challenge.

God doesn’t want us to stay the same or stagnant. He wants us to grow closer to Him.

So, to answer the question I began with—and I invite your thoughts, too:

Experience is a powerful teacher.
But obedience can spare us unnecessary pain.

Sometimes God allows us to learn the hard way because He knows the lesson will sink deeper. Other times, He invites us to grow through quiet surrender—but we resist it because it feels less dramatic, less earned.

But both roads can lead to transformation.

In Proverbs, we’re told that wisdom comes through reverence and obedience.
But Ecclesiastes reminds us not to idolise wisdom or expect it to make us immune to suffering.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight.”
— Proverbs 3:5–6

“For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief.”
— Ecclesiastes 1:18

You don’t need to touch the fire to know it’s hot.

God’s desire is that we meet wisdom early—through His Spirit, and through walking with Him.

So which road will you take?

——————

I’m going to love you and leave you with that.

I hope you enjoyed this piece—and most of all, I pray you have a blessed week and may you continue to be a blessing to those around you.

With Love, Your little sister in Christ,
Christina 🤍