Proverbs, Chapter 6

Part of seeking wisdom is acknowledging that we need to seek it. This is where I was about a week ago. After a long talk with my father about being so lost, he pointed out that sometimes you need to step back and simply ask god to show us back to the path. In those moments we need to repent that we are lost, and we must seek God. Proverbs 6 today shows that one of the main reasons we get lost is because we strike out on our own path, rather than seeking the path God has set before us. I admit god slapped me in the face this morning with these first three verses:

 ¹ My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor,
       if you have struck hands in pledge for another,

 ² if you have been trapped by what you said,
       ensnared by the words of your mouth,

 ³ then do this, my son, to free yourself,
       since you have fallen into your neighbor's hands:
       Go and humble yourself;
       press your plea with your neighbor! – Proverbs 6:1-3

Most of the time I really have no idea what I am doing. God made it plain to me a few years ago that I am on this earth to write. Since that time, the only place that I truly find peace is in my writing. When my recent job fell apart late last week, I was laid off after just three days on the job because of a lack of revenue for the site I was managing. Imagine my frustration. I had waited four and a half years for a full-time job. I was given one that allowed me to work from home and to write about something I love. It was taken away after just three days, leaving me more lost than before.

So I am trying to humble myself this morning and seek the wisdom that God has for me. I feel like I am at the mercy of the world, not knowing what to do next with no more doors open before me. I must push forward though. This chapter says that we are to continue working without being lazy. I know God wants me to write, so I write at my ventures that won't pay the bills because I know I am building a foundation with them. It is all I can do this morning.

Proverbs, Chapter 5

There is not a single positive thing that can come out of adultery. It destroys trust, lives, and any benefits from it are only for the short term. It is ironic that we get a warning from King Solomon in Proverbs, chapter 5, as he had over 700 wives and 300 concubines. Why then should we trust a man who so clearly disregarded God's design for sexuality and marriage.

Perhaps it is because he speaks from experience. The entire idea behind sexuality is that it is an intimate, treasured experience. God only means for us to share it between a husband and wife. As always, God's idea about something is much better than anything man can come up with. From what I have seen, those that value this idea are much happier in the long run than those that do not.

 ²⁰ Why be captivated, my son, by an adulteress?
       Why embrace the bosom of another man's wife?

 ²¹ For a man's ways are in full view of the LORD,
       and he examines all his paths.

 ²² The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him;
       the cords of his sin hold him fast.

 ²³ He will die for lack of discipline,
       led astray by his own great folly. – Proverbs 5:20-23

Adultery affects more than the people committing it. It is an affront to God, turning away from Him in one of the strongest ways we can turn from him. It is a selfish act, and it strong speaks of a lack of discipline. Discipline comes from sticking through event he bad times, and that includes with a spouse. Without discipline, you can never find true wisdom.

Proverbs, Chapter 4

As the heading of today's chapter states, wisdom is supreme. It is also found all around us. Since God is always accessible, His wisdom is always accessible to us as well. We don't have to go on some great hunt for the wisdom we seek. It is often right there in front of us. Solomon makes and interesting point about that early on, speaking about how he gained wisdom from his father, David.

 ³ When I was a boy in my father's house,
       still tender, and an only child of my mother,

 ⁴ he taught me and said,
       "Lay hold of my words with all your heart;
       keep my commands and you will live.

 ⁵ Get wisdom, get understanding;
       do not forget my words or swerve from them.

 ⁶ Do not forsake wisdom, and she will protect you;
       love her, and she will watch over you. – Proverbs 4:3-6

For many, this is where the root of wisdom comes from. It comes from a mentor that is willing to instill the proper teaching in us early. In a way, that is another responsibility that comes from seeking wisdom. We must also be willing to share it with others so that they may know. That is part of our responsibility, and it is our charge from the Great Commission given to us by Christ at the end of Matthew.

Wisdom means nothing if we horde it for ourselves. Wisdom is something that needs action. It needs a change to grow and flourish, otherwise it is not true wisdom. Think about your education. If you are a doctor, what good is all the wisdom you have gained in school if you do not put it into practice? It means nothing, right? It is the use of the Wisdom that God provides for us that is the true value of that wisdom.

²⁰ My son, pay attention to what I say;
       listen closely to my words.

 ²¹ Do not let them out of your sight,
       keep them within your heart;

 ²² for they are life to those who find them
       and health to a man's whole body.

 ²³ Above all else, guard your heart,
       for it is the wellspring of life. – Proverbs 4:20-23

We are to keep this wisdom in our heart because that is where we often make our decisions. Sure, there are plenty of decisions we think through completely. There are quick decision, however, that must be made with the heart. With God's wisdom in our heart we always have the proper foundation to make these decisions.

 

Proverbs, Chapter 3

There are more benefits of wisdom than just gaining access to God's plan in our lives. That is a fantastic benefit in itself because we are happiest when we are doing what God has planned for us. In Proverbs chapter 3 today we see some other tangible benefits from seeking wisdom. God offers this wisdom to us because He loves us. Imagine that for just a moment.

This past weekend I had the opportunity to sit down and speak with my father. He is a man that has been walking closely with God for almost all of my life. He explained some things to me that I needed to hear since I had fallen away a bit in my walk with God. As he told me, not only is God still in the same place and never moves, He also loves us and wants us to come back to Him for wisdom. That love is never ending as well. It never goes away and we need only seek it if we want to find it.

 ³ Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
       bind them around your neck,
       write them on the tablet of your heart.

 ⁴ Then you will win favor and a good name
       in the sight of God and man.

 ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart
       and lean not on your own understanding;

 ⁶ in all your ways acknowledge him,
       and he will make your paths straight. – Proverbs 3:3-6

When we think of binding something around our necks, it can be considered to be a burden. After all, this is how animals are handled when they are attached to plows. When we allow love and faithfulness to bind us, however, we can never go wrong. That love is God's love as promised above. There is not one thing ever wrong with God's love. The more of it we accept, the better. As we see here, we are taught to rely on His love and understand. It is when we begin relying on our own understanding that we begin to fall.

 ²⁵ Have no fear of sudden disaster
       or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

 ²⁶ for the LORD will be your confidence
       and will keep your foot from being snared. – Proverbs 3:25-26

I wanted to focus on these verses to end today's entry. Once again, this is a promise from God that He will always be there to love and care for us. Does this mean that our lives will be perfect without any adversity? No. We will still have to face things that go wrong. These things can be big or small, but they still happen. With God's love and wisdom, however, we have no reason to fear it. He will help us from being snared and paralyzed into inaction when we face these troubles. Again, this comes from relying on god instead of ourselves. It is when we begin to rely on ourselves that we take our first step toward failure.

 

Proverbs, chapter 2

As I mentioned yesterday, Proverbs is about a search for wisdom. Today, in chapter two of Proverbs, Solomon explains the moral benefits of wisdom. Let's face it, much of this world has lost its way in terms of morality. Unfortunately, this departure from morality has affected me too much because it has made me a very bitter person. It is this bitterness that has led me here to Proverbs, ironically, because I am seeking the wisdom to get away from it.

 ¹ My son, if you accept my words
       and store up my commands within you,

 ² turning your ear to wisdom
       and applying your heart to understanding,

 ³ and if you call out for insight
       and cry aloud for understanding,

 ⁴ and if you look for it as for silver
       and search for it as for hidden treasure,

 ⁵ then you will understand the fear of the LORD
       and find the knowledge of God. – Proverbs 2:1-5

Seeking wisdom takes work. The payoff, however, is clear if we seek it. Once again, understanding the fear of the Lord does not mean we have to be afraid of what God has for us. It means we must be receptive to His teachings and respect what He can do for us. Part of the reason for the lack of morality in the world is that people have fallen away from this. I am not immune to this, as it is not uncommon for people to shy away from hard work. This is hard work that pays off, however, as it opens the door to so many other things.

 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 unfaithful will be torn from it. – Proverbs 2:21-22

This is another reason that I like the book of Proverbs. The author, Solomon, is very straightforward. He plainly states what the consequences are if we do not seek the moral wisdom that God offers. If we stay upright we are promised eternity because that way walks with God. If we walk in the ways of man, however, we will be cut off from God.

 

Proverbs, chapter 1

Proverbs is a book that thrives on the search for wisdom. It was written primarily by Solomon. This is significant because God presented Solomon with any gift he could possibly ask for, but Solomon asked for wisdom. He could have had money, power, respect, fame, but instead he chose to ask God for wisdom. God gave him everything else in addition to wisdom, and Proverbs is a collection of that wonderful gift of wisdom. I wanted to come here and begin an in depth study because I am seeking for wisdom as well. It is through proper wisdom and knowledge of God's plan for us that I feel I can finally find some peace in my soul.

⁷ The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
       but fools despise wisdom and discipline. – Proverbs 1:7

Does this mean that we have to be afraid of God? Of course not! Fear, in this use, is used primarily to show proper reverence and respect for God. It is the cornerstone of this entire book. If we do not give God the proper credit and respect He deserves then we have no basis for wisdom. That is because we are then basing our wisdom on man, not God. Wisdom based on man has no chance of standing up to God's standard. We must approach God with an attitude of humility and respect, thus allowing us to connect with Him. That is where wisdom begins.

 ²⁰ Wisdom calls aloud in the street,
       she raises her voice in the public squares;

 ²¹ at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,
       in the gateways of the city she makes her speech: -- Proverbs 1:20-21

The amazing thing about wisdom is that it does call to us. God does not want us to walk around in a fog of cluelessness as I have for the past year or so. He wants us to grow and connect with Him. By growing and connecting with Him, we can serve the purpose that He has placed us on this earth for. God wants us to have the wisdom He has promised us because we are also happier when we are serving in the role He wants us to serve. A former pastor of mine once gave a sermon about living in the zone of God's blessing. In short, we are happiest when we are doing what God wants us to do. We feel like we are living in the groove and serving the purpose we were created for.

I have not been in this zone of God's blessing for some time. I know this because I can remember when I was. Nothing is sweeter than being in that spot with God. Even though at the time I was not working a great job, I was still serving in the role God had intended for me. Life is fluid, however. That zone changed for me and I slipped away from it. That is why I am now seeking wisdom, as Proverbs tells me to do, so I can get back.

Taking this in a new direction

I have not been happy with a lot of things lately. I have not been happy with the way this blog was progressing. I have not been happy with the way I have handled news, both good and bad. For example: I recently received wonderful news that I finally had a full-time, permanent job. Not only that, I would be managing a sports website from home. This seems to be perfect for me. I would be getting paid to sit at home, write, and work in a field that I am genuinely interested in. How could it not be better?

My latest reaction, however, has been sheer terror. I am afraid I can't do the job. I am afraid that I will become too tied down to it. I am afraid that it is too good to be true. I start this job on Thursday, and I have so much anxiety that I can barely breathe at times. This anxiety consumes me when I know mentally that there is no reason for it. It doesn't make since that I would be paralyzed by this much apprehension over something so simple. That is what makes the situation all the more frustrating because I should be overjoyed.

The only reason behind his is the same reason this blog has suffered. I have fallen away in my walk from God. There has not been something drastic. I haven't had a great moral failure or anything like that. I have simply relied on myself for too long and I have fallen away from the peace that God offers. The connection that I once had is no longer there. I have felt adrift in my faith. My worship has been non-existent. My spiritual disciplines have been robotic at best.

Today is a good day to move past that. I turn 30 today. It is the age where I can see where I have been and I realize that where I am going is very close at hand. Today I want to repent from how lost I have become and I want to rededicate myself to the plan God has for me. I have gotten here because of a lack of patience, and as a result I don't even know what I want now. One of God's great promises, however, is that he doesn't move. He is still there. I just have to ask him to show me the path back to Him.

Here is what I want for the rest of my life: I want to make the most of the gifts that God has given me. I want to study His Word, His promise to us, and have it speak to me as it once did. God has given me a wonderful gift with the written word. I have no doubt that His plan for my life involves my writing. As much as I enjoy my sportswriting, I know it ultimately means nothing compared to what I can write for God's kingdom. He has given me everything that I need. They are his gifts anyway, not my own. God has placed me in a position where I can influence people for him with the written word. He has placed me where I can reach people for His kingdom, which is what we are called to do.

This is what I want to turn this blog into. I want to continue writing on what God is telling me. I want to study his word, learn from it, and pass it on to others. I know there is much I need to learn, but I want other to learn with me. My own doubts are preventing me from feeling so much. They make me focus on negativity and question if I even believe in all this despite the evidence to the contrary I have seen.

We are told through God's Word that Christ is the only way to salvation. It is by believing in His death on the Cross and resurrection that we are absolved of our sins if we only accept his sacrifice. That is the message. It is so simple, but it takes such a leap of faith to follow because no one can prove it by earthly means. We won't know the final answer on it until we die or He returns as promised. Right now I know I believe it, but my heart does not feel it. I long to share that with others because I know it is my responsibility, but I need to get that feeling back in my heart as well. This has become a quest for inner peace as well as a mission to speak of God's Word.

It is my hope that you will come along with me on this journey as I strive to get back there. I do not have all the answers and never will. I am willing to look for them though. I will begin tomorrow by seeking wisdom from the book of Proverbs. I cannot promise I will post every day, but I feel led in the direction of the book of Proverbs so that is where I shall go. Please be patient as I work through this new direction.