Wisdom From the Proverbsنموونە

Proverbs 2

Before we jump into today’s devotional, may I encourage you to read the whole of Proverbs 2. This will give you context and help you to discover your own revelation from the Proverb.

Proverbs 2 has a very strong message: wisdom leads to integrity, justice, faithfulness and righteousness. Abandoning wisdom leads to evil, perversion, crookedness and darkness.

For me, this strong message all hinges on one word: if.

> Verse 1 says, ‘if you accept my words and store up my commands within you.’

> Verse 3 says, ‘furthermore, if you call out to insight and lift your voice to understanding.’

> Verse 4 says, ‘if you seek it like silver and search for it like hidden treasure.’

All of these ‘ifs’ lead to one ‘then': Verse 5 says, ‘then you will understand the fear of the Lord.’ (And we know from Proverbs 1 that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.)

All of these ‘ifs’ and ‘thens’ tell me something – I have a choice.

If I choose to pursue wisdom, knowledge and understanding by gleaning all I possibly can from the Word of God, I will reap a harvest of integrity, justice, faithfulness and righteousness.

If, however, I use my freedom of choice to abandon wisdom, I can expect to receive nothing but evil, perversion, crookedness and darkness.

It’s a pretty easy choice to make, isn’t it?

However, seeking wisdom instead of foolishness (its opposite) can cost us.

> It means choosing to go home rather than stay out for another hour and possibly two or three more drinks, which may lead to compromising behaviour.

> It means choosing to say no to cheating the system and paying our taxes exactly as we should.

> It means choosing to put back the extra pairs of jeans rather than maxing out my debit card and leaving myself no financial margin.

These may be slightly extreme examples of choosing wisdom but, in our day-to-day lives, these are the kind of wise or foolish choices that we are faced with.

Do not make light of the many small decisions we have to make in our everyday life. They have the power to keep us on track with God or completely derail us.

Wisdom bears much fruit in the kingdom of God and in our temporary earthly lives. I believe that God sees when we make the hard choice to follow wisdom rather than give into the foolishness our flesh may desire.

So, my friends, my encouragement to you is this: Choose wisdom. It will guard your life and set you up to win. As Proverbs 2:7 puts it:

‘He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity.’