By Pastor Murray
My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:1-5 NKJV)
Solomon is continuing speaking to his son. He wants him to receive my words and to treasure my commands. The Lord wants us all to place ourselves in a position to hear and receive His words into our hearts. He also wants us to give value to His commands, to be obedient to them. For wisdom to be effective, it must be received and treasured.
We need to read God’s Word consistently – this is the source of wisdom Psalm 111:10 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. We need to allow Him to show us how to understand what He is saying, and to apply what we read to habits that we form, and to issues as they arise in our lives
The Word of the Lord is to be regarded as “Treasure”. It is to be made part of the fabric of our character to be used as appropriate, now and in the future.
As wisdom is built into our character, we follow the Lord’s direction. We do this, not out of a sense of duty, but because it is in our heart to do so. Psalm 119:11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.
The decisions we make are often determined by what is in our hearts. Proverbs 3:3 Let not mercy and truth forsake you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Let our obedience to His word be a willing response to a loving Father.
People put a lot of effort into making money. We put our whole heart into it, and it is the focus of a large part of our lives. We are told by Solomon here to seek wisdom with the same effort that we seek silver.
In this period of lockdown, when we may have more time available, it is easy to fritter it away. However, it is a good opportunity to seek the Lord, to read and study His Word, to let it become more imbedded in our hearts.
It is an ideal time to seek the Lord, to spend time praying, to draw closer to Him and to experience His love and His speaking to our hearts.
Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.
This is how you will have an understanding of God and find the knowledge of God.
May God’s richest blessings be with you, with those in your bubble and with those you would like to have in your bubble