In Proverbs 3, Solomon says the goal is “discretion” and “sound wisdom”. When the world and all her pleasures try to seduce us, we have the inner power to navigate what is front of us. We can anticipate and traverse through the traps. Solomon says there is a lot to lose – life, safety, peaceful sleep, courage and confidence. Ultimately the Lord is our confidence and the guardian of our safety. As we trust Him, He is the only one who can secure the outcomes He wants us to experience.
What’s the fuel our bodies run on? If you were to watch most of humanity, and even many Christians, you might conclude that the fuel we run on is fear and anxiety. We live in a culture of hurry and worry, and our bodies were not created to endure this lifestyle. A doctor from John Hopkins said, “We are inwardly constructed in nerve and tissue, brain cell and soul, for faith and not fear. God made us that way. To live by worry is to live against reality.” We were made for faith, to trust our Creator.
We can’t find it in marriage or multiple marriages. We can’t find it in six figure incomes. We can’t find it in workouts or diets. It’s a sinking feeling when you are counting on something to heal the turmoil in your heart, but once achieved nothing changes. If happiness via the pursuit of pleasure is not the goal of our existence, then what is?
Is it possible God is sending us message that we are ignoring or can’t pick up because of the state of our hearts? In the gospels Jesus speaks of those who have “ears to hear”. In Proverbs 1 Solomon raises the same concern – our capacity to hear. Whose voice does Solomon want us to hear? It’s Lady Wisdom’s, and she isn’t hiding. It’s God’s hokma and it’s available to all.
