Recently, while reading a trilogy, I found myself increasingly frustrated with a character named Zelie. From book one through book three, her decisions often felt impulsive, emotionally driven, and, if I’m honest, immature. I yearned for Zelie to start acting with wisdom, to pause, and to choose differently. Each time she didn’t, I felt a disappointment that lingered far after I closed the book.
Today, I heard about the concept of ‘embodied cognition,’ and everything shifted.
Embodied cognition suggests that we don’t merely observe stories; our brain actually physically and emotionally experiences them. We absorb the actions, emotions, and decisions of characters as if they were our own. This explains why Zelie’s choices felt so deeply personal. I wasn’t critiquing a fictional heroine; I was responding as if someone I loved, like one of my children, was making risky, childish decisions right in front of me.
Acting With Wisdom
This concept was profoundly insightful to me. Scripture often reminds us that wisdom is not merely something we know, but something we do. “Do not merely listen to the word… Do what it says” (James 1:22). James reminds us that wisdom is embodied through action, repetition, and experience. Luke tells us that Jesus “grew in wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52). Growth implies time. It implies learning. It implies grace.
I realized that I wanted Zelie to possess a fully formed wisdom without enduring the process that shapes it. I wanted her to learn from previous missteps. God’s word describes wisdom as a lamp to our feet (Psalm 119:105). A lamp gives enough light for the next step, not the whole journey. Discernment is wisdom practiced and embodied over time.
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.
Proverbs 4:7-9 ESV
Perhaps my frustration revealed something deeper in me: how quickly I want resolution, maturity, and right choices, not just from fictional characters, but from people I love, and most importantly, from myself. Proverbs invites us instead to cherish wisdom, to walk patiently with her as she unfolds in our life choices.
Maybe stories move us so deeply because they invite us to think, dream, and imagine the what-ifs of life. And maybe our frustration is actually Wisdom calling out to us. Asking us to discern, guiding us toward gentler expectations, and inviting us to extend greater grace to every soul as they begin their journey of acting with wisdom.
*For those of you who prayer walk, ponder the phrase, ‘Acting With Wisdom’ as you walk. Listen closely to what the Holy Spirit reveals. For this week’s screensaver click here. To access my newest YouVersion Bible App devotional plan click here.