READ: Proverbs 3
BACKGROUND: This chapter deals with some of the benefits of wisdom in our lives.
3 – Really cool imagery here. Helping us to understand that we ought to let love and faithfulness and God’s commands be such a part of who we are that we wear them around like a necklace and have them written on our hearts.
6 – “Make your paths straight” refers to removing the obstacles and difficulties.
11-12 – A reminder that everything isn’t always perfect for righteous people. We all experience God’s discipline because he loves us and wants us to be the people we were created to be.
14 – Wisdom is more valuable than any earthly possession.
17 – The word for “peace” (or “prosperity” in some translations) is shalom. This is a holistic concept that extends beyond just peace and prosperity and means wholeness, fullness, love, joy, perfection, etc.
24 – Being able to lie down and sleep without fear is also listed as a covenant blessing in Leviticus 26:6, Job 11:18-19, Micah 4:4, & Zephaniah 3:13.
34 – Makes me really, really want to be humble and not proud!
THINK: The day before his 52nd birthday, Abraham Lincoln left Springfield, Illinois, to become President of the United States. With the threat of civil war looming, he said goodbye to the friends and neighbors who had come to see him off. “I now leave,” he told them, “not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of the Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell.”
Lincoln’s reliance on God for guidance and strength reflects the instruction of Solomon: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Prov. 3:5-6).
[When we think about Abraham Lincoln] we celebrate his kindness, integrity, and courage. And we can also learn from him how to face a daunting future with confident hope in the Lord.
– From Our Daily Bread, David C. McCasland, February 12, 2009
ASK: When I face difficult situations am I more likely to lean on my own understanding to solve the problems or am I more likely to stop and pray and seek God’s wisdom first? Do I really value God and pursuing after him more than any of the material things of this world?