All of us who serve God should give priority to the operation of His wisdom in our lives. Walking a path of daily wisdom is the only way to avoid those things that displease the Lord and cause us so much trouble. Proverbs 4:5-9 shows us how important wisdom is for us. In these proverbs God speaks some of the most useful, practical advice you will find. Read them below carefully and let them speak to your heart as they did mine.
(Proverbs 4:5-9 (NKJV) “Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. {6} Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; Love her, and she will keep you. {7} Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. {8] Exalt her, and she will promote you: She will bring you honor, when you embrace her. {9] She will place on your head an ornament of grace; A crown of glory she will deliver to you.”
There are some strategic thoughts from these proverbs that captured my attention. As I share them with you, let them touch your heart in a special way. Take the time to meditate on them and what they offer. I have three of them to share.
My first thought is taken from Verses 5 and 6. These verses tell us that wisdom, when operating in us, has the quality of a preserving agent (“she will preserve you.”). Wisdom will watch over (or preserve) those good things in your life, while keeping you from what is not good. Wisdom is sourced from the Word of God and brought to life through your willing partnership with the Holy Spirit. Wisely include Him in your Bible reading and listen carefully for His voice in your daily decisions. When you do so, you can be assured that He will lead and guide you into truth. Only truth will set you free and keep you there. It will allow you to make good choices that will benefit not only you, but also those around you. Truth, wrapped in God’s wisdom, is the gift that keeps on giving as long as you keep receiving.
My second thought is taken from Verse 8. The Scriptures, speaking of wisdom, say to, “Exalt her, and she will promote you.” This speaks of a process, and the process leads to a product. The process is to exalt, or lift up. This simply describes giving wisdom a place of high honor and respect in your life. In doing this, you pay tribute to wisdom’s value. You position it in your heart above the great many pressures and influences that would tug at it and compete for a place where they have no right to be. Always give wisdom priority in your heart and listen with respect when it speaks to you. This process leads to the product or result, which the Bible describes as the wisdom that will “promote you.” The best way to understand this term “promote” is to consider its use in the game of chess. In this game, part of a winning strategy is to move your least powerful chess pieces, the lowly pawns, to the opposite end of the board. Then, they may be exchanged for queens, which are the most powerful pieces in the game. The term that chess players use for this exchange is that the pawns have been “promoted.” They have been transformed from their lowly stations, having little power, into symbols of power and importance. As you can see, the process and product of getting biblical wisdom results in being “promoted” to a position of increased power to live a free and successful life in Christ.
My third thought for you to consider is found in Verses 8 and 9. Speaking again of wisdom, it says, “She will bring you honor, when you embrace her.” This speaks of honor that goes far above and beyond any that people can give to you. It is perhaps the most significant of the three thoughts I have shared, because it speaks of the God-given honor, in which the Lord crowns you with His grace and glory. Grace is God’s free gift to you for whatever you need, whenever you need it. That is a comforting, confidence-building thought. It alone is worth everything, but to be crowned with the honor of reflecting the glory of God is even more incredible! Nothing could be more valuable or worthwhile than to be a reflection of God’s glory. It is an immense privilege for which every servant of God should constantly strive.
As I meditated on Proverbs 4:5-9, it led me to dwell on Proverbs 16:23. This proverb says, “The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, And adds learning to his lips.” This caused me to think about those times (over the years there have been far too many) when I failed to learn from the words I spoke (and sometimes later regretted). This happened because I did not allow my heart teach my mouth to speak words of wisdom that would edify. Here is my point. Please remember to listen to your heart before you say something hurtful, ignorant or devaluing to someone. Speak the wisdom of God that He freely makes available to you. If you will, your words will make your life and those around you better; and what you say will be well pleasing to God. He will honor you for it and your words will honor Him.
Today would be an excellent day to speak things that would bless you and those around you. Do so with the express purpose of bringing joy and peace to both your heart and theirs, while honoring and glorifying God with what you say. Now, wouldn’t this be an appropriate time to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit about this matter and obey His wise counsel?