January 2

Jan 2- Today from Proverbs 2 we look at verse 6
"For the Lord gives wisdom, and from His mouth come knowledge and understanding."

This appears to be a simple enough statement. By itself, it would seem that all we have to do is ask the Lord for wisdom in some matter and He simply doles it out. But, when you read verses 1-4 you get a different picture. As a rule, God doesn't just 'drop' wisdom on people. We have to work at it. We have to accept His words and store up His commands. We can't do that without studying. We have to call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. This means that we need to be in dialogue with God. We have to look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure. This means it's not generally laying right on the surface - we have to work at it and dig it out. Just like achieving anything worthwhile in life, we need to work at gaining wisdom. We have to remember also, that the only true source of wisdom is God. All of our efforts at growing in wisdom must be centered on Him. When we ask Him for wisdom in some matter, we then must frame the possibilities for direction or solution with questions like;

"What principles do we find in God’s Word regarding the subject?"
"Would the direction I am taking reflect the character of Christ?"
"Is the principle driving my thought process an opinion or a conviction?"
"Does the solution reflect my love for God? My love for my neighbor?"

As we process through situations in life by asking such questions, we need to be in constant dialogue with God by seeking His Word and listening to His Spirit in prayer. When He speaks through His Word and confirms by His Spirit, we have but one option – to accept His will and obey His voice. It is through obedience that we gain knowledge and understanding.