It was a blessing yesterday to read the comments posted. There is so much in this chapter to encourage us, please share your thoughts again today. Here's Chapter 2:
Proverbs 2 (New King James Version)
1 My son, if you receive my words, And treasure my commands within you,
2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, And find 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 uprightly; 8 He guards the paths of justice, And preserves the way of His saints.
9 Then you will understand righteousness and justice, Equity and every good path.
10 When wisdom enters your heart, And knowledge is pleasant to your soul,
11 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep 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 rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked;
15 Whose ways are crooked, And who are devious in their paths;
16 To deliver you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words,
17 Who forsakes the companion of her youth, And forgets the covenant of her God.
18 For her house leads down to death, And her paths to the dead;
19 None who go to her return, Nor do they regain the paths of life—
20 So you may walk in the way of goodness, And keep to the paths of righteousness.
21 For the upright will dwell in the land, And the blameless will remain in it;
22 But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, And the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.
We need God's help to live well and keep our families safe. There is so much evil in the world we live in. We cannot afford to live casually, with a careless, random attitude to decisions. Verses 3 and 4 speak of an aggressive, passionate, purpose driven search for God's thoughts. Not the passive, "at ease" mindset that leads to mediocrity. Verse 10 says that when wisdom enters our hearts, then discretion will preserve us, then understanding will keep us from evil people. I don't want to repeat my past mistakes or make costly foolish decisions. Everyday I will ask God to reveal my heart condition. Is there any foolish thinking that tends to lead me in the wrong direction? I know that if we allow God unhindered access to our hearts, the result will be healed "issues" and better lives. Let's pray this together today:
Prayer
“Lord I give You permission to shine Your light into every corner of my heart.
I give You unhindered access to my heart. Please give me wisdom for my life, for my children, for my job, for decisions that I have to make today. Reveal anything in my heart that is keeping me from Your blessing, in Jesus Name, Amen".
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Verses 7 & 8 are my favorites in this chapter. This is God reaching out and letting us know that if we are working for him and seeking his wisdom that He will gaurd us in times of trouble. When people speak out against us or try to harm us, He will be there. So many times, I have been faced with something that I just did not think that I could handle, and I was right. However, if God is there to shield us then we can handle anything that life throws our way! I don't know if this makes sense to anyone but me. However, that is what I got from these verses. It also says in verses 11-12 that understanding will keep you and deliver you from evil. Understanding is the key to keeping us safe. I think of it like this: At school, we have a set of rules in our handbook that every student and teacher must follow. They are there to keep us safe and to maintain order througout the school. If someone chooses not to follow the rules and understand them, then it leads to chaos for that child. In the same way, we must understand God's word and his commandments to keep us safe. His "rules" if you will are there for our protection the same way I map out rules for my students' protection. It is in understanding this that God can truly preserve our heart and spirit!
I love vs. 1 that says to listen to what I say and treasure my commands. It is just like when we instruct our children and teach them to hear godly wisdom and if they refuse then there is always consquences. Well, as adults we are no different, God gives us explicit instruction as how to have the wisdom of god and walk in His blessings. Sure we miss it but we repent and learn from our bad decisions. One of my greatest hearts desire is to seek, know and understand the divine wisdom of God. It is not only beneficiary for me spiritually but for common every day living and making the right choices in everything we do.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
This verse makes it clear that wisdom has nothing to do with my head and has everything to do with my heart. When I allow wisdom to enter my heart, it affects every decision I make. I begin to evaluate each aspect of my life from God’s viewpoint instead of acting impulsively in my flesh.
When I make a conscious decision to allow wisdom to reside in my heart, knowledge becomes “pleasant to my soul.” Why? Because I now understand the importance of what I allow into my heart and my mind. When I am operating with wisdom in my heart, I will choose to be a student of the things that are pleasing to God. I will choose to only allow God-pleasing thoughts to linger in my mind.
Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” If wisdom is in my heart, then this is the knowledge that I will desire.
Verses 1-6 stood out to me the most.
They really point out that if you want wisdom from God, you need to ask for it and to have a receiving heart. If you just ask for wisdom and not have a receiving heart its kinda like asking for a gift then when someone gives it to you you dont want to accept it.
So today I pray that everyone who asks for wisdom will also have a receiving heart as well.
What this chapter means to me is that if we just take in God's word for everything that it is, He will make sure our lives go smoothly. If we just abide by the wisdom He has given us in the Bible, we will live long and prosper in everything we do. This is pretty much a summary of everything we should be doing as Christians. Take in His wisdom, and have a blessed life. Pretty simple.
I really like vs 1 - just receive his words and treasure them for what they are worth. so many times we hear great wisdom and teachings and forget to ever use them. I also like vs 3 - cry out for discernment - I need to understand and use everything I read. I need to get serious and not play games. As the youth said last night, we are here for only one reason and we must begin to work our lives with that goal. I received so much blessing from our youth last night, I wish I could be so open to Gods teaching like they were expressing last night. Lastly vs 5 speaks to me about understanding the fear of God and finding the knowledge of God. I need to ernestly seek God daily and develop a closer relationship with him being my top priority. I pray that this month will change my life forever. Amen
Reading Proverbs really is like finding treasures. As I read, it amazes me how God presents little gems that confirm His promises for us. Consider these two verses...
Proverbs 2:7, 8
7 He lays up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to the ones who walk in integrity,
8 to guard the paths of judgment, and He protects the way of His saints.
Wow... an awesome promise of divine protection for those who pursue His wisdom to walk in His ways. This is good stuff!
When I was homeschooling my two children all those years, there were times when I would be overwhelmed--wondering if I was doing the best thing for my children. Even though I knew I had clearly heard from the Lord about homeschooling my children, something small would happen and I would begin to doubt myself and my convictions. Many times I would literally agonize over which curriculum choices to make, which extracurricular activities to encourage my children to participate in, and many other things. At times I feel I took on the entire responsibility for whether or not my children would succeed in life! Of course, this was not a "God thing" but a "Laurie thing." During those times, I leaned on scriptures such as verses 1-7, asking for and receiving the wisdom, knowledge and discernment of my God. God is good and He has never failed to give me wisdom when I've asked.
Verses 7 & 8...
Comforting to know when I make a choice to accept wisdom and open my heart, the Lord will be my shield and keep me on the path of safety and provision.
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