Notes of Faith September 6, 2024
Walk in Wisdom
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Ephesians 5:15-16
The first nine chapters of the book of Proverbs are recorded as the words (advice, teachings) of a father to his son on how to live a wise life. The Hebrew idea of wisdom is “skill”—avoiding spiritual and moral danger. Proverbs 2:1-6 describes the acquisition of wisdom as a process not unlike searching for hidden treasure—it takes time and diligence.
Recommended Reading:
Proverbs 2:12-22
Paul continues that idea in Ephesians 5:15-16, exhorting Christians to walk carefully and skillfully. Why is wisdom (skill) so necessary? “Because the days are evil.” This is an idea not unlike the ideas in Proverbs 1–9—that the path through life is filled with traps and snares of all kinds. The person who strolls through life unaware of these dangers will be easily caught by them. Thus the need to walk “circumspectly” (carefully), making the most of the limited time and opportunities we have.
As the example in James 4:13-17 points out, carefulness starts with consulting God on decisions and directions. Over time, our skill in discerning God’s will grows as we benefit from His guidance.
I pray as I walk about, when I lie down and when I rise up. And the answers are always coming.
George Müller
1My son, if you will receive my words
And treasure my commandments within you,
2Make your ear attentive to wisdom,
Incline your heart to understanding;
3For if you cry for discernment,
Lift your voice for understanding;
4If you seek her as silver
And search for her as for hidden treasures;
5Then you will discern the fear of the LORD
And discover the knowledge of God.
6For the LORD gives wisdom;
From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.
7He stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
8Guarding the paths of justice,
And He preserves the way of His godly ones.
9Then you will discern righteousness and justice
And equity and every good course.
10For wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11Discretion will guard you,
Understanding will watch over you,
12To deliver you from the way of evil,
From the man who speaks perverse things;
13From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;
14Who delight in doing evil
And rejoice in the perversity of evil;
15Whose paths are crooked,
And who are devious in their ways;
16To deliver you from the strange woman,
From the adulteress who flatters with her words;
17That leaves the companion of her youth
And forgets the covenant of her God;
18For her house sinks down to death
And her tracks lead to the dead;
19None who go to her return again,
Nor do they reach the paths of life.
20So you will walk in the way of good men
And keep to the paths of the righteous.
21For the upright will live in the land
And the blameless will remain in it;
22But the wicked will be cut off from the land
And the treacherous will be uprooted from it.
The books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes are filled with the wisdom of God. They teach us the truths of good and evil. Being in the Word of God daily will keep your heart and mind focused on the things of God, heaven, eternal things, and not on the temporal things of our life on earth. As you focus on things above, you will think and act more godly, more holy in your daily walk. You will not be sinless but you will sin less. You will yield and submit to the Holy Spirit within you to obey and please God. May we all be filled to the fullest in the wisdom of God!
James 1:5
5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and without reproach; and it shall be given him.
Luke 11:13
13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Pastor Dale