Wooing Wisdom
Proverbs 8: 17-19 nkj
I love those who love me, And those who seek me diligently will find me.Riches and honor are with me, Enduring riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes, than fine gold, And my revenue than choice silver.
I have always found it fascinating that the eighth chapter of Proverbs personifies God’s wisdom as female. No mistaking about it, from the very first verse wisdom is referred to as she and her. Solomon spells out a detailed account of what God’s wisdom looks like, how to obtain God’s wisdom and what wisdom will do for us. In our verses for today we see the benefits of pursuing God’s wisdom. We also see that wisdom must be pursued; it will not pursue us.
Wisdom says she loves those who love her. We are not talking the love of God here but rather how God’s wisdom is obtained. In essence, if we have no time for God’s wisdom she has no time for us. No need to despair. If you have ignored God’s wisdom you can make the adjustment. But spoiler alert; you’ll have to spend time in God’s word if you want God’s wisdom. If we think we are too busy for God’s word, we will have a difficult time receiving the wisdom we need for life. Wisdom says those who diligently seek her will find her. Diligently is quite different from casually.
Not wooing wisdom does not mean we are rejected by God or that He is angry with us. It does mean that we miss out on His wisdom that has the capacity to produce really good things in our lives. Look at what wisdom produces, in her own words' riches, honor, and righteous ways of living. Wisdom produces more for us than gold and silver ever could. Think about the challenges you are currently facing. Some of those challenges can be resolved with more money. But with many of the things we are facing, money is not the solution. We have heard of throwing money at a problem. That phrase is typically associated with something that did not work. What if we threw God’s wisdom at the challenges before us? If we could wouldn’t we pay to have God’s wisdom on family, career, health issues? The great news is that we don’t have to buy God’s wisdom but in wisdom’s own words those who seek me diligently will find me.
Wisdom is not trying to avoid us she just won’t jump into our laps. We can put in the effort to seek and hear and do what God’s wisdom says. God’s wisdom is timeless and valuable, verses 22-31 speak of the eternal timeless power and nature of God’s wisdom. And verses 34-35 give us more insight as to how to obtain the wisdom we need. “Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD,” What stands out here is watching and waiting daily for wisdom.
There are some things I have pursued in the past that did not turn out well. But pursuing God’s wisdom is never a mistake.
Prayer
Lord I am seeking You and Your wisdom. Thank You for making wisdom available for me.