Wisdom and Understanding
“He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; He who keeps understanding will find good. (Proverb 19:8 - NASB)
The first thing for us to notice here is that no one is born with wisdom and understanding. Wisdom and understanding are things that we may or may not get or acquire as we go along in our lives.
There are several ways to get wisdom and understanding:
We can receive them as gifts from the Lord (Exodus 28:3, 31:6; 1 Kings 4:29; 1 Chronicles 22:12),
We can acquire them with time and aging (Job 12:12)
We can develop them through a lifestyle of respecting God and obeying Him (Job 28:20-28)
We can fear God and come to know Him (Proverb 9:10)
“From where then does wisdom come? And where is the place of understanding? It is hidden from the eyes of all living, And concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' God understands its way, and He knows its place. For He looks to the ends of the earth, And sees under the whole heavens, to establish a weight for the wind, and apportion the waters by measure. When He made a law for the rain, and a path for the thunderbolt, then He saw wisdom and declared it; He prepared it, indeed, He searched it out. And to man He said, 'Behold, THE FEAR OF THE LORD, THAT IS WISDOM, AND TO DEPART FROM EVIL IS UNDERSTANDING'” (Job 28:20-28 – caps mine)
We can just look at the world around us and observe a vast wasteland in which wisdom and understanding are virtually non-existent.
It is NOT judgement to observe and report this.
It is simply recognition of the TRUTH.
It is a sad truth and there is a reason for that reality: rampant foolishness.
“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” (Proverb 1:7)
Our enemy, the devil, has caused most people to become fools.
This grieves God and He implores us to do something about this:
“GET WISDOM! GET UNDERSTANDING! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you." (Proverbs 4:5-9 – caps mine)
There IS another way to acquire wisdom and understanding. That is to receive Jesus as our Lord and allow Him to live His live through us (Galatians 2:20)
“The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.” (Isaiah 11:2)
When a person is born again the wisdom of Jesus dwells within that person. Sadly, many Christians have been so saturated with the foolishness of the world that they seem to never draw upon the wisdom of the Lord.
There is an antidote to that: ASK.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5)
This is written to encourage us all to love our souls by acquiring the wisdom and understanding of the Lord.
“He who gets wisdom loves his own soul; he who keeps understanding will find good. (Proverb 19:8 - NASB)
It’s a pretty exciting adventure and, in the end, we shall “find good.”
May we all join in this adventure and flourish!
Pastor Mike McInerney
Mike McInerney Ministries
Decatur, TX
© June 19, 2017
(For use with permission)