All a man ever really owns is what he is—the kind of man he has become, good or bad. You can lose everything, but you’ll always have that. So what you truly are had better be something worth having.”
–C.M. Curtis (Silent Mountain Guns)
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”
–James 1:12 (NIV)
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1 — My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, (NKJV)
2 — So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; (NKJV)
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (ESV)
3 — Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and life up your voice for understanding, (NKJV)
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (ESV)
4 — If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; (NKJV)
5 — Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. (NKJV)
Here we see that wisdom is near and available, but not easy to embrace. Chapter 2 of Proverbs begins with a guide, a treasure map with directions to the great bounty of knowing God. “The only way to end up at the right destination is to choose the right road. (Warren Wiersbe) Know this, there are only two paths. Luke records the words of Jesus in regard to choosing the crowded road that leads to destruction or the narrow road that leads to life. Wiersbe says, “The path of Wisdom leads to life, but the way of Folly leads to death.”
Look at the directions that are given:
First — we need to accept wisdom’s words. We must accept His Word and have confidence in it. Matthew Henry states that we are to “receive with all readiness of mind.” When we receive we hide the words in our minds and hearts, we store them up.
Second — then we listen to the words of wisdom. The application must be made to the heart to understand. To incline means to filter what we hear, letting the Word get into our heart. J. Vernon McGee warns us that we can’t “dilly-dally around and pick the daisies along the highway of life; we must apply our heart unto wisdom.”
Third — now we must cry out for understanding and insight. We must desire knowledge and this understanding as hungrily as a baby desires milk (1 Peter 2:2).
Fourth — seek the hidden treasure as if you were searching and digging for silver. Someone has said that “Divine wisdom is a mine which yields a little on the surface,” therefore, there must be effort. Fausset tells us that “treasures are ‘hidden’ not in order to keep them back from us, but to stimulate our faith and patient perseverance in seeking for them.”
It takes effort to find the treasure that the Lord has for us. It means we have to walk the narrow, less crowded path. It is not just looking around for the silver to suddenly appear. “There is no hocus-pocus way of learning the Word of God.” (McGee) It takes the desire to want to know the Lord better. In fact, this is imperative as we journey through life. Wardlaw states that “Without right views of God you can have no right views of His law.” All sorts of ideas and problems can begin to arise. Listen, “Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby; it is the daily discipline of a lifetime.” (McGee)
Want to know God, search for Him, listen for His voice, seek and dig for His treasure. Let us go back to how it starts by choosing. It is a choice to listen, a choice to heed the words of the Lord, to filter them out from all of the voices we hear coming from the world. To walk the way of the Lord takes effort; it is not for the mamby-pamby. However, it is serious business and will take some “spiritual sweat.” It is vital to make the right choice; vital not only for life in this world, but for all eternity. The Puritan theologian Thomas Watson brings the somber thought: “Death begins a wicked man’s hell. Death ends a godly man’s hell.”
————————–
1 — My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, (NKJV)
2 — So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; (NKJV)
making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; (ESV)
3 — Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and life up your voice for understanding, (NKJV)
yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, (ESV)
4 — If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; (NKJV)
5 — Then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. (NKJV)
Here we see that wisdom is near and available, but not easy to embrace. Chapter 2 of Proverbs begins with a guide, a treasure map with directions to the great bounty of knowing God. “The only way to end up at the right destination is to choose the right road. (Warren Wiersbe) Know this, there are only two paths. Luke records the words of Jesus in regard to choosing the crowded road that leads to destruction or the narrow road that leads to life. Wiersbe says, “The path of Wisdom leads to life, but the way of Folly leads to death.”
Look at the directions that are given:
First — we need to accept wisdom’s words. We must accept His Word and have confidence in it. Matthew Henry states that we are to “receive with all readiness of mind.” When we receive we hide the words in our minds and hearts, we store them up.
Second — then we listen to the words of wisdom. The application must be made to the heart to understand. To incline means to filter what we hear, letting the Word get into our heart. J. Vernon McGee warns us that we can’t “dilly-dally around and pick the daisies along the highway of life; we must apply our heart unto wisdom.”
Third — now we must cry out for understanding and insight. We must desire knowledge and this understanding as hungrily as a baby desires milk (1 Peter 2:2).
Fourth — seek the hidden treasure as if you were searching and digging for silver. Someone has said that “Divine wisdom is a mine which yields a little on the surface,” therefore, there must be effort. Fausset tells us that “treasures are ‘hidden’ not in order to keep them back from us, but to stimulate our faith and patient perseverance in seeking for them.”
It takes effort to find the treasure that the Lord has for us. It means we have to walk the narrow, less crowded path. It is not just looking around for the silver to suddenly appear. “There is no hocus-pocus way of learning the Word of God.” (McGee) It takes the desire to want to know the Lord better. In fact, this is imperative as we journey through life. Wardlaw states that “Without right views of God you can have no right views of His law.” All sorts of ideas and problems can begin to arise. Listen, “Obtaining spiritual wisdom isn’t a once-a-week hobby; it is the daily discipline of a lifetime.” (McGee)
Want to know God, search for Him, listen for His voice, seek and dig for His treasure. Let us go back to how it starts by choosing. It is a choice to listen, a choice to heed the words of the Lord, to filter them out from all of the voices we hear coming from the world. To walk the way of the Lord takes effort; it is not for the mamby-pamby. However, it is serious business and will take some “spiritual sweat.” It is vital to make the right choice; vital not only for life in this world, but for all eternity. The Puritan theologian Thomas Watson brings the somber thought: “Death begins a wicked man’s hell. Death ends a godly man’s hell.”