by Audrey Bauman

Proverbs 2: 1 - 12; 20   NLT

2 My child, listen to what I say,
     and treasure my commands.
2 Tune your ears to wisdom,
     and concentrate on understanding.
3 Cry out for insight,
     and ask for understanding.
4 Search for them as you would for silver;
     seek them like hidden treasures.
5 Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
     and you will gain knowledge of God.
6 For the Lord grants wisdom!
     From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7 He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest.
     He is a shield to those who walk with integrity.
8 He guards the paths of the just
     and protects those who are faithful to him.

9 Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
     and you will find the right way to go.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
     and knowledge will fill you with joy.
11 Wise choices will watch over you.
     Understanding will keep you safe.

12 Wisdom will save you from evil people,
     from those whose words are twisted.  ...

20 So follow the steps of the good,
     and stay on the paths of the righteous.
 

These verses repeat the verses in chapter one with more explanation of what God wants to do for you. So let's look at what our "fear of the Lord" gives to us.

"For the LORD grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding." 

God gives me wisdon! But how do I actually get that? Where do I get his knowledge? From my Bible - that's where I find what comes "from his mouth". One of the first things I need to do as a Christian is to know my Bible. I need to read it frequently. Reading these devotions helps because obviously we're reading parts of the Bible. But I'd also encourage you to read the Bible on your own. Don't necessarily read commentaries and think you must be educated and knowledgable. Just read and see what God says to you as you read. Sometimes when I'm reading, I don't understand what is being said, especially when I'm reading some of the Old Testament books. But often a verse stands out, and I see an idea that God is showing me. I look back over my life, and I wish I had read my Bible more frequently then - but you know how busy life is when your family is young. Now, as a senior citizen, I realize that knowing God more makes life steadier even in tough times. Starting earlier makes life much better.

"He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him."

Common sense is such a gift. It's so easy to get carried away with great ideas and plans. We need to dream and come up with exciting plans, but we also need that common sense to make things happen. You may remember a time when you were making plans for something special, and eventually you pared down the ideas to something that worked. When I get carried away with ideas and plans, I'm so grateful that the Holy Spirit starts pushing common sense into my mind. And ... when we follow God's common sense instructions, he shields/guards us. When we live with integrity/honesty, God makes sure we aren't fooled in some way. 

"Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go.
 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy."

What a wonderful promise! When we follow God's leading, we will behave in honest ways with wisdom and joy. Think for a moment about the decisions you have made in your life. Think about some of the bad ones. What made you make those decisions?  Now think about the decisions you've made when you knew in your gut that you needed to follow God's instructions given in the Bible. How did they turn out?

We can have a relationship with God. When we believe that Jesus died for us and rose to life again, we become God's children:

John 3: 16  "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." 

Romans 8:  15 - 17  "You received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children.[h] Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God’s children.  And since we are his children, we are his heirs."

And as his children, "you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God."   "Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy."

Isn't that amazing!  

Our song for today is You Are My Vision by Rend Collective.