It is actually pretty easy to throw a loud and obnoxious know it all off track and cause them to be still for a minute in debating life when you ask how they came to all. But let us turn inward as “All have sinned” in this area while growing and maturing in our faith and life. All have sinned on those certain days when we think we can do life without God and tell proceed to tell others how we do life like us! All have sinned in foolishly thinking that we know better than God about living our lives to the full. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God to live life well when we lean on our own understanding of life and how life works instead of leaning, trusting, asking, listening for God—the Creator of Life and the Savior of our Souls. Trust God, only He knows what lies ahead and is already at work on our behalf to use life to teach us to be more like Him who created us “in His own image”.
Proverbs 3, The Message
Don’t Assume You Know It All
1-2 Good friend, don’t forget all I’ve taught you;
take to heart my commands.
They’ll help you live a long, long time,
a long life lived full and well.
3-4 Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty.
Tie them around your neck; carve their initials on your heart.
Earn a reputation for living well
in God’s eyes and the eyes of the people.
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
The Very Tree of Life
13-18 You’re blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom,
when you make friends with Madame Insight.
She’s worth far more than money in the bank;
her friendship is better than a big salary.
Her value exceeds all the trappings of wealth;
nothing you could wish for holds a candle to her.
With one hand she gives long life,
with the other she confers recognition.
Her manner is beautiful,
her life wonderfully complete.
She’s the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her.
Hold her tight—and be blessed!
19-20 With Lady Wisdom, God formed Earth;
with Madame Insight, he raised Heaven.
They knew when to signal rivers and springs to the surface,
and dew to descend from the night skies.
Never Walk Away
21-26 Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life;
don’t for a minute lose sight of them.
They’ll keep your soul alive and well,
they’ll keep you fit and attractive.
You’ll travel safely,
you’ll neither tire nor trip.
You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry,
you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.
No need to panic over alarms or surprises,
or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner,
Because God will be right there with you;
he’ll keep you safe and sound.
27-29 Never walk away from someone who deserves help;
your hand is God’s hand for that person.
Don’t tell your neighbor “Maybe some other time”
or “Try me tomorrow”
when the money’s right there in your pocket.
Don’t figure ways of taking advantage of your neighbor
when he’s sitting there trusting and unsuspecting.
30-32 Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder,
always spoiling for a fight.
Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life.
Why be a bully?
“Why not?” you say. Because God can’t stand twisted souls.
It’s the straightforward who get his respect.
33-35 God’s curse blights the house of the wicked,
but he blesses the home of the righteous.
He gives proud skeptics a cold shoulder,
but if you’re down on your luck, he’s right there to help.
Wise living gets rewarded with honor;
stupid living gets the booby prize.
WHAT DO WE LEARN—HOW DO WE RESPOND?
We learned yesterday that true wisdom begins and ends with God. God is wisdom. Today God’s wisdom tell us to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” (v5-6, NIV)
How do we get on God’s straight path and walk humbly with God? Try this;
Seek God first before our own agenda items bombard our minds. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”—Jesus, telling the crowds who gathered to hear Him speak the words of God, Matthew 6:33. He was referring to the physical needs with reminding us that God will provide.
Give God back what He has given to us—Today! As we rise to see the sun, ask God for wisdom, insight and understanding as we go about this day. “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”—James 1:5 I would rather begin and end this day with God’s wisdom rather than my own—how about you?
Submit to God’s wisdom by asking what He wants to do in us for today. Following God’s agenda will be easier than our own! “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”—Jesus, Matthew 11:28-30 (Substitute the work yoke for agenda and see what happens as we pray for understanding God’s leading today!)
Offer all we are to God as a living sacrifice to Him. It is then we will know His good, pleasing and perfect will for us today! “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12:1-2, NIV
Rejoice! “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.”—Philippians 4:4—in all circumstances writes Paul the Apostle. Rejoicing people who know they are redeemed draw others who are curious about why we are smiling!
Love God; Love Others—the two greatest commandments, Jesus tells us. Proverbs 3 is teaching us that a right relationship with God motivates right dealings with neighbors. Its two commands, “trust God’s wisdom” and “Don’t lose your grip on Love and Loyalty” are close to Jesus ‘command to love God and one’s neighbor (Mt 22:34–40). 1 John 4 explains that if we don’t know God, we don’t know love for love is God, and God is love. Know it all’s only love themselves. “Don’t assume that you know it all. Run to God! Run from evil!” (v.7) Live God’s love.
Lord,
I need you every hour of this day. I’m yours. I’m listening. I confess I do not know it all but what I do know I will tell. God was, is and always will be God who sent His Son, Jesus to save us from our sins. God’s Holy Spirit lives in the redeemed to show and tell us the Truth. Just knowing this Truth leads me to you, running to you, for wisdom. Thank you, thank you, thank you!
In Jesus Name, Amen
