In The Word
Read Proverbs 2, 3
The Pursuit of Wisdom Brings Security
2 My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2 Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3 For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4 If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will discern the fear of the Lord
And discover the knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8 Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9 Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
12 To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14 Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15 Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16 To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
17 That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
18 For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;
19 None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of good men
And keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright will live in the land
And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
How much effort are you willing to put forth to know God and His ways? God desires a close relationship with you and is willing to give you spiritual wisdom and knowledge, but He also wants to see how much time and effort you will put in to obtain it.
Acquiring spiritual wisdom is not a casual interest or occasional hobby, it requires a lifetime of daily discipline out of deep love for God and consuming desire to know Him. But people have short attention spans due to brief news sound-bites and electronic entertainment, and people have become accustomed to quick fixes with instant web information, online shopping, fast food, microwave ovens, etc. Thus, people are losing the work ethic of investing time and effort to dig deep into Scripture and discover God’s wisdom. You may be working diligently to earn a paycheck, but are you willing to spend time with God, search out Scripture to learn, and diligently apply God’s Word to gain spiritual riches that are more valuable than any earthly treasure? There is high price to pay to secure spiritual wisdom, but there is a much higher price to pay if you do not acquire it!
How much do you desire to know God and receive His wisdom for your life? God says in Proverbs 2:1-4 that the proof is in the time and effort you will put in to have it. And the rewards detailed in the remaining verses of chapters 2 and 3 are worth it!