Experience the Wisdom of ProverbsSample

The Lighthouse

Proverbs 3:5-6 are some of the most well-known verses in the Bible. These two verses could be the theme of the entire book of Proverbs as they acknowledge our tendency to trust our own wisdom yet urge us to trust in God’s ways.

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track. (The Message version)

Only God, in His infinite wisdom, knows all of the answers that will lead to the full and abundant life He desires for us. If this is the case, we should seek Him daily to ask Him to help us make the right decisions and lead us on the right path.

Imagine you are walking on a sandy beach. Off in the distance, you see an incredible lighthouse that you decide you want to explore. From far away, the sand leading to the lighthouse looks smooth and clear, so you start to sprint in its direction. But, as you get closer, you start to feel pain on the bottom of your feet. Looking down, you notice you have been running along sharp rocks that have washed on the shore that you originally did not see. You have no choice but to slow down and carefully place each step to avoid more sharp rocks. Some of your steps seem like they are a bit of the way, but you are avoiding the dangerous path. While your new pace is slow and takes a lot of patience, you finally reach the lighthouse safely! As you look behind you, you see that your trail of footprints is actually stretched out in a straight line!

This is the message of Proverbs 3. We should carefully look at every step in our life to avoid making decisions that are not healthy or God honoring. Sometimes, the path right in front of us looks like a sandy beach when it is actually covered with rocks just beneath the surface. Sometimes the path that looks like it is a detour is actually the straightest and safest path to take. Our job is to simply focus on each step we take and trust that God is making our path straight.

Bottom line: Trusting in God’s wisdom is always better than trusting in our own wisdom.

Experience-

Memorize Proverbs 3:5-6. Having these verses in your head can help motivate you to make wise decisions and remind you to trust God’s path.

Memorizing Scripture can be difficult; here are a few tips that may help:

- Write out the verses multiple times. Studies show that writing (by hand) increases our ability to remember things.

- Read the verses out loud and repeat. This process will help cement the verses in your head.

- Ask a parent or a friend to memorize these verses with you. Having the extra accountability and help can be a big encouragement if memorizing becomes difficult.

- Start small. These two verses contain four separate lines. Try memorizing one line at a time rather than trying to memorize all of them at once.