June 11, 2009

WHOSE WISDOM WILL YOU GET AND HOW?

Proverbs 2

Dan Perge
Thursday's Devo

June 11, 2009

Thursday's Devo

June 11, 2009

Central Truth

The Lord gives you wisdom.

Key Verse | Proverbs 2:6

For the Lord gives wisdom,
and from his mouth comes knowledge and understanding.
(Proverbs 2:6)

Proverbs 2

The Value of Wisdom

My son, if you receive my words
    and treasure up my commandments with you,
making your ear attentive to wisdom
    and inclining your heart to understanding;
yes, if you call out for insight
    and raise your voice for understanding,
if you seek it like silver
    and search for it as for hidden treasures,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
    and find the knowledge of God.
For the LORD gives wisdom;
    from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
    he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
guarding the paths of justice
    and watching over the way of his saints.
Then you will understand righteousness and justice
    and equity, every good path;
10  for wisdom will come into your heart,
    and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11  discretion will watch over you,
    understanding will guard you,
12  delivering you from the way of evil,
    from men of perverted speech,
13  who forsake the paths of uprightness
    to walk in the ways of darkness,
14  who rejoice in doing evil
    and delight in the perverseness of evil,
15  men whose paths are crooked,
    and who are devious in their ways.

16  So you will be delivered from the forbidden 1 2:16 Hebrew strange woman,
    from the adulteress 2 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman with her smooth words,
17  who forsakes the companion of her youth
    and forgets the covenant of her God;
18  for her house sinks down to death,
    and her paths to the departed; 3 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim
19  none who go to her come back,
    nor do they regain the paths of life.

20  So you will walk in the way of the good
    and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21  For the upright will inhabit the land,
    and those with integrity will remain in it,
22  but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
    and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

Footnotes

[1] 2:16 Hebrew strange
[2] 2:16 Hebrew foreign woman
[3] 2:18 Hebrew to the Rephaim

Dive Deeper | Proverbs 2

The definition of wisdom at Answers.com is: "The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight." The Christian life is not only hard to live, it is impossible to live through our own ability. Only when we stop relying on ourselves and let Christ live through us can we live victoriously.

One of my core sins is pride. At times I try to rely on my own wisdom to make things work without ever going to Jesus, "who became for us wisdom from God." (1 Corinthians 1:30) We all have examples in which we've failed when we didn't seek His wisdom. I can't count how many times I've failed in pursuing God with my whole heart, communicating well with my wife, or disciplining our children well. However, I'm learning daily that before I make any decision I need to humble myself and ask God for His wisdom. "But if anyone is deficient in wisdom, he should ask God, who gives to all generously and without reprimand, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)

This process of living in His wisdom does not happen overnight. It's up to me to ask and to obey Him. If I don't ask Him, He will let me live in my own wisdom, which I can tell you definitely falls short. I'm blessed to have a wife and two friends who continually encourage me to rely on His wisdom. One way the Lord is helping me to overcome is by spending at least twenty minutes daily seeking Him and His wisdom for the next day. Also, I thank God that He quickens me to ask for forgiveness when I fail to seek His wisdom so that I can turn to Him quickly without letting self-condemnation take over.
Thank you, Lord, in advance, for the wisdom You will provide to me as I humble myself and continually ask you for it. Thank you, Lord, for providing people in my life who know me well and will hold me accountable to live out Your wisdom and not my own.

Discussion Questions

1. Are you a wise person?  Why or why not?

2. Where do you get your wisdom?

3. Who are the Christian people in your life who know you well and hold you accountable to seek and live out His wisdom for your life?

4. How do you seek Him and His wisdom on a daily basis?

5. When you fail to seek the Lord's wisdom, how quickly do you confess, repent, and turn back to Him?