The True Source of Wisdom

“Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. When thou goest, thy steps shall not be hindered, and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life.” (Proverbs 4:10–13, KJV)

I want to give my personal testimony that those words are true. As quite a young boy, I became interested in wisdom. I became a student and, finally, a professor of philosophy, and the word philosophy means literally “the love or the pursuit of wisdom.” But the wisdom that I pursued didn’t satisfy me. It led me finally to confusion and frustration.

Then, through God’s marvelous grace, I turned to God, the true source of wisdom, and to the Scripture, the way in which wisdom comes from God to us. And now I can look back on forty years that I’ve walked in this way, and I have to say: God’s promises are true. He has led me in the way of wisdom and in the right paths. When I go I am not hindered, when I run, I don’t stumble. And yet, I know that I cannot afford to forsake wisdom.

The warning is: hold fast to instruction, keep on holding on. When we come to the place where we know it all, we have come to a place of real danger. After forty years of studying the Bible, I feel there’s so much more to study than when I first began. It’s like an endless ocean, and I’ve just dipped my feet in the margin, but it’s all good.