Know: Seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures. (Proverbs 2:4)
Consider:
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; (Proverbs 2:1-6)
We live in a time where information comes in quantity but not necessarily quality. Last summer my niece had a rash and my mother who has been a nurse practitioner for 30+ years said she did not know what caused the rash. So naturally I took to the internet. I soon announced that she had chicken-pox, to which my mother laughed and said my niece was already vaccinated. I then came up with measles, mumps and even the black plague. My problem was quantity of information but little quality.
Not all knowledge is instantaneous, and wisdom is not a microwave commodity.
The entire book of Proverbs has a reoccurring theme that is hard for me to grasp in my current culture of immediate gratification – choosing wisdom through constant obedience to God and not simply acquiring “wisdom” through a moment’s research. Knowledge, wisdom, and understanding must be sought after day after day, searched out like hidden treasure by walking with Jesus Christ – THE source of wisdom and knowledge.
Key Concept: [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][tweetthis]Seek God like hidden treasure, because He Is.[/tweetthis]
This Week’s Faith Over Fear Challenge: Identify an area of life where you are likely to seek “internet” wisdom before Biblical wisdom. Does God’s Word have something to say about this area of life? Is there a trusted friend or spiritual mentor you can ask if you’re not sure? Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal areas of self-sufficiency that can be replaced with His all-sufficiency.
Questions for Discussing & Journaling:
1. What does it mean to say that we must search for wisdom and understanding like silver or like a buried treasure?
3. What does the word of God say is the beginning of wisdom?
4. How does the knowledge of God combat fear (Proverbs 2:6)?
Continue: Bible Memory & Daily Homework
Day One: Belief
My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you (Proverbs 2:1)
Belief is the first step towards acquiring wisdom. If we don’t believe that God is God, and that the Word of God is true, then we cannot possibly seek wisdom for it doesn’t exists outside of God. The heart is where the Word of God is stored up, where truth births life, and where a heart of stone is turned into flesh and blood through the words of Jesus Christ. Read Romans 10:9-10 and Ezekiel 36:26. What does God promise to do for those who believe in him? What does belief have to do with wisdom?
Day Two: Prayer
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 (Proverbs 2:2)
Part of seeking wisdom and applying your heart to understanding is the active obedience of prayer. It starts small, simple, and beautiful like whispered hopes on the lips of children before they fall asleep. But prayer should grow like the roots of a giant oak tree as our relationship with Christ grows – deeper and deeper and wider and wider to cover more and more ground. Prayer is the root system that will keep us grounded when the storms come. Prayer is a part of wisdom, knowledge and understanding and we must learn to listen (turn your ear to wisdom), application (applying your heart to understanding), petition (call out for insight) and learn to align our hearts through submission and acknowledgment to God’s plan, (cry aloud to understanding…God is understanding). Read Matthew 6:9-13 where Jesus taught us to pray. List the elements of prayer you see.
Day Three: Dedication
if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures (Proverbs 2:4)
Coming to know and believe what God has done for us begins the fierce, life-long dedication to seek God above all else and there we find wisdom because we find Him. The Christian life should not be a half-hearted quest, but a sold-out race that we run with endurance, dedicated to the prize of Jesus Christ above all else. Read what the apostle Paul said about the depth of dedication this walk with Christ will take from us in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27. What are you most dedicated to in your life? Do you seek wisdom and understanding like someone seeking a hidden treasure? Do you run with everything you have after Jesus? What stands in your way?
Day Four: Fear of the Lord
then you will understand the fear of the LORD (Proverbs 2:5)
Understanding who God is and who we are in comparison to Him creates a healthy fear of the Lord. This fear is not as a child whimpering under the hand of an abusive father, but a deep understanding of how much God loves us, who God is, and who we are as image-bearers of God. Read Psalm 111:10. What does the Bible say is the beginning of wisdom? What does the Bible say you will find when you understand the fear of the Lord?
Day Five: Knowledge and Understanding
For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding (Proverbs 2:6)
We see in the verses of Proverbs 2:1-6 that wisdom (not to be cliché) is a journey not a moment. The Lord alone gives wisdom and from His words comes true knowledge and understanding. The word of God is living and wisdom is a gift from God alone. Read James 1:5. Who will God give wisdom to? How do you obtain it?
Think is over: What is the greatest single thing you have dedicated your time to in your life? Have you given your time and dedication to your relationship with Christ in the same manner? Remember days turn to weeks, weeks to months, months to years, and years to a lifetime. Start by dedicated a time each day to read the Word of God, and before you know it, a lifetime will pass by as you grow in wisdom, understanding and knowledge in the Lord.
Submitted by Julia Gibbs.
Chime in and comment below: How do the verbs in Proverbs 2:1-6 – receive, treasure, attend, incline, call out, seek, search, understand, find – help you understand God better?
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