Saturday, May 1, 2010

Wisdom

Ahhh, wisdom we all seek it don't we? I just finished a bible study with a bunch of very wise ladies at my church and the lady who taught the class is especially gifted in bringing the bible and the characters to life and apply that to our day, and our lives in this world here and now.


On last day of meeting together we shared a potluck lunch and were given a challenge for the summer to read Proverbs 3 at least once a week and to find and memorize at least five rewards of Godly wisdom. I think this Proverb has just about everything in it that we need to be wise in our walk in this world. I'll try to share some that I have learned with you.

The first verse is so important for us to embed into our hearts and minds

"My son/daughter, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart
for they will prolong your life many years and bring you to prosperity".

What a message this is for us to learn God's word so that we can apply it to living in a dark world. I'm not so sure this means we will be blessed with a long life on this earth but I do know we will spend eternity with Jesus and receive rewards in heaven for what we have done while here on earth.


Of course there is the well known verses, 5-6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight"

This passage alone gives me comfort because no matter what happens to me or those I love, God has a greater knowledge of the why, what and when. It is a difficult passage for us to apply because we so want to do things our way and not Gods. But God has the full picture of our lives and knows what is best for us no matter what.

Then there is verses 13-14

"Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she (wisdom) is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold".


What rich verses these are, gold in today's world is about the only thing that still has value in a monetary sense. But the our Lord tells us that the man who finds wisdom and gains understanding of it will profit more than gold, nothing can compare to a mortal with godly wisdom.

Verses 23-24


"Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet".

How many times have you tossed and turned in the night fussing over something that went wrong during the day, or reliving a moment that never should have occurred, or trying to figure out how to reach a lost child, so many reason that steal our sleep time away.

If we just would remember to use the wisdom our Lord gives us freely we wouldn't have nights like this or days of anguish. We need to let God handle the situations we have no control over and to seek His word to guide our paths so we will not stumble and our sleep will be sweet.

And what about this, verses 27--28

"Do not withhold good from those who deserve it, when it is in your power to act.

How many times have we held so tightly to something that someone else really needs and we have more of. Or this is a hard one, how often have we withheld from the Lord the portion that is duly His. God has been generous with us in so many unthinkable ways, should we not give back to Him with a cheerful and grateful heart??

And then, this in verse 33

"The Lord's curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous".

I don't know about you but I would much rather have the Lord's blessing than His curse on my house. God loves to bless his own just like we love to praise our obedient children.

This Proverb has just about everything in it for all the wisdom we need to have to live our lives in a godly and obedient manner. We need to realize when we lack wisdom, and ask for it. But we also need to desire wisdom and seek it in the Word. We need to pray for wisdom, it doesn't just manifest itself all of a sudden. And we need to grow in Godly wisdom and be obedient to it.

Think of it this way:

W Willingly give your life to Jesus Christ.

I Identify sin in your life.

S Shed Spiritual laziness.

D Decide the method and rate of growth.

O Obligate yourself to be discipled.

M Maintain your spiritual growth.

4 comments:

Mari said...

What a lot of wisdom in one chapter. I bet you are sad to see this study end. She is such a good teacher and writer - she should write a devotional book or Bible study book with these studies in it.

Susan said...

I love the book of Proverbs. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Connie said...

So much wisdom can be found in scripture. Wisdom, comfort, encouragement etc. it's all in there. My favorite verse of all time is Trust in the Lord.........

Cherdecor said...

It is hard to find a good Bible study teacher. Hang on to her. There isn't one around here so we resort to Beth Moore. She is good.
I know that you are sorry to see the study to come to an end, but your have learned a lot.