Proverbs 3:13-18
Thoughts from Pastor Brian
Dive Deeper
“Blessed is a person who finds wisdom, and one who obtains understanding. For her profit is better than the profit of silver, and her produce better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are those who hold on to her.”
Proverbs 3:13-18
Behind the Scenes
To fully understand this passage, we need to take it in context. Earlier in this Proverb we read “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” (vs 5-7) Then in verse 11-12 it says, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His rebuke, for whom the Lord loves He disciplines, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.”
So in light of those passages, when we read today’s verses, we learn some important truths about the wisdom that the bible is talking about here:
First- Wisdom comes from God only. We can’t fully gain wisdom if we haven’t first trusted in God with our whole heart. When we trust anything other than God (including our own understanding or knowledge), we not only miss out on the wisdom of God, but the blessings too. Real wisdom starts and ends with God. Anything less is false wisdom.
Second- I find it interesting that wedged in this Proverb about wisdom is this two-verse caveat about discipline. It stands to reason that the two ideas, wisdom and discipline, are connected. In fact, much of the wisdom we gain comes from the gentle (and sometimes not so gentle) discipline of God. Like a good father teaching his son, God used discipline to help us to gain wisdom that we might not otherwise get apart from discipline. The fact that the Lord disciplines us proves that He cares… He cares enough to make sure we gain the wisdom we need to not only succeed in this life, but also in the next.
Make it Real
Now taking what we know about this passage in context, let’s apply today’s passage to our lives. The wisdom of God is important, one of the most important commodities you could ever work for. It’s worth your time and energy. It’s valuable beyond compare. If you want to have a prosperous life, both physically and spiritually, you cannot do without His wisdom. The very truths that lead to life are bound up in the wisdom of God alone.
But all too often we fail to seek it out. We get distracted with the thing around us and the “wisdom” of the world. We listen more to people than to God, more to the news than the Bible, and more to our own feelings and thoughts than to the Holy Spirit. We walk through this life seeking wisdom in all the wrong places, wondering why things don’t work out the way we think they should.
God’s wisdom is not hard to find, but it will take a lifetime to finish acquiring it. It is the product of a close, abiding walk with the Lord and a constant surrender to the Holy Spirit. It means dying to ourselves daily, even moment-by-moment, and surrendering to God’s ways over our own. But in this constant pursuit of true wisdom in Jesus Christ alone, we find peace, hope, and life.
Crystal Garnett
ACF Digital Discipleship Team Lead
End in Prayer
Lord,
I want Your wisdom alone. Help me today to surrender to You, to delight myself in You, and to trust You fully. Help me to spot when I am seeking the wisdom of this world over Yours. Teach me to lean more into You and Your truths more today than I did yesterday.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen