SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 3:1-20
OBSERVATION/APPLICATION:
1. “Bind them around your neck”. Solomon urges us to cling to wisdom and truth, love and faithfulness, to bind ourselves to them, to let nothing get in the way of our living according to them.
2. “They will prolong your years and bring you prosperity.” If we seek wisdom first we will reap the harvest of righteousness. This whole section repeats in various ways how it pays to fear God and follow His wisdom. This does not guarantee temporal wealth (that may come, and go), but ultimate wealth and blessing. Whatever wealth we do receive in this life we also need to dedicate to the Lord, for He is still our ultimate concern and goal.
3. “Lean not on your own understanding.” Our own perception of wisdom and truth is flawed, we need to measure it by the ultimate standard. It is not wise to trust our own judgment, we need to seek God’s wisdom, either directly through prayer and Bible reading, or through others. Unfortunately, we are too often not willing to listen to others, nor to discern what God may be saying in the critical, challenging words of others.
4. “By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations.” Everything in this world follows the wisdom of God, it is built right into the very fabric of creation. “You reap what you sow” is not just religious truth, it is creational truth, it applies to all aspects of life. We should not separate between religious and normal, everyday truth or wisdom.
5. I am in a place right now where I need to seek God’s wisdom, but its not always easy to apply to specific situations. I am listening to what others are saying, paying attention to the words of the Bible, and praying through my thoughts, feelings and intuitions. I want to trust with all my heart, and to acknowledge Him in all my ways. In the end I have to make a decision, and trust….
PRAYER:
Lord, I commit myself again today for seeking You and Your righteousness first. All else in life is secondary, next to knowing, loving and serving You first. Into Your hands I entrust my decisions. Amen.
As an obedient son listens to his father, so I too need to listen to my Father in heaven. It is in Him I have life when I keep His commands with all my heart. I need to be heart driven leaning upon His everlasting arms to guide me wherever I go. He is my All in all, my Life force. I must be rooted in Him in order to grow wisdom and understanding. Lord, help me to be the tree planted by the living waters rooted in You. Happiness is – living for Jesus. May that be evident in all I say and do this day.
What a fellowship, what a joy divine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms;
What a blessedness, what a peace is mine,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.
What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
Leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
Leaning on the everlasting arms.