Day One of the 31 Day Scripture Challenge for me begins in Proverbs. I was hesitant to choose this book at first. I thought, "Is this too easy?" "Are there more in-depth books in the Bible?" "Shouldn't I do something more profound?" I prayed for direction and I kept coming back to Proverbs. I read through a few chapters and realized this would be more for me than anyone else who may join this challenge. Those negative thoughts were a way to rob me of the journey I was about to embark on.
I've always heard that it's good to read through Proverbs every month, one chapter a day, because it holds such great reminders that seem to fade under our schedules. So for the next 31 days days I will be posting (either on the blog or instagram) scripture that stuck out to me, a lesson learned or re-learned, a highlight in a chapter, etc. Today begins in Proverbs chapter 1.
This verse is the main theme for the book of Proverbs. Fear of the Lord is a loving reverence for God that involves submission to Him and His word. An even simpler version I was taught was just being in awe of Him. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. What we're going to learn throughout Proverbs is that getting wisdom involves a great measure of humility.
On the other hand the scripture describes those who despise wisdom and instruction as fools. Seems kind of harsh when you hear that word but it's pretty accurate: "fools" are those who hate knowledge (v. 22) and correction of any kind, who are fast to argue (20:3) and make no effort to abstain from arguments (29:11) , those who are complacent (v. 32), who trust in themselves (28:26) rather than God.
Lord I desire:
Wisdom for decisions
Wisdom for understanding
Wisdom for discretion
I want to make it my top priority to pray for wisdom on a daily basis. All wisdom and knowledge comes from Him (Ecclesiastes 2:26) and He knows what's best for me. He will not leave me empty-handed for fear of the Lord comes with a great reward! I pray that I always trust in the Lord, never become complacent, abstain from arguments and anger, seek knowledge, and receive instruction and correction with a humble heart.
Proverbs is going to be a wonderful journey! Sometimes it's the easiest things to understand that we have a hard time living and demonstrating with our actions. I crave to not only read these verses but I want to live them and apply them to my life.
●This post is a link up with Kristin Schmucker for the 31 Day Scripture Challenge. To read more about this challenge, click here.
Hi Katie,
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the book of Proverbs because I'm a die-hard carnivore, meaning that there is enough meaty goodness in that book to keep you chewing on it-- for eternity! And it's so true, getting wisdom involves a great deal of humility. There's nothing like the embarrassment of smiling with meat stuck in your teeth to keep you humble - ha ha ha! We need to know when and how to share why we believe the gospel and with whom, all of this involves wisdom.
For instance, I remember once when my younger sister sat down beside me with a mischievous look in her eye, then she asked me, "So Heather, what does Jesus look like?" I looked at her and said, "Oh no, I'm not going to get into that argument." She whined, "How did you know to not go there?" I laughed and told her that Jesus' physical appearance isn't important, but rather his words and deeds, and whether or not we believe his the the Son of God; the only people who are concerned about looks are worldly people. Then she told me how her husband's cousin (who hates God) trapped her into a long argument about Jesus' physical appearance in the book of Revelation, which left her angry, and him with smug satisfaction. I sympathized with her and told her that I had learned (the hard way) to never argue with people that I know hate God, or don't believe he exists; they are fools, and it's not wise to argue with fools. I would have saved myself a LOT of aggravation if I had heeded the instruction in Proverbs! Especially regarding scriptures that require a saved person's dependence upon the Holy Spirit to help with understanding them, like the book of Revelation! That's just asking for a heated argument that leads nowhere. Anyway, I love this challenge; good for you!
Love in Christ,
Heather Z. (http://www.thewhittierhousewife.weebly.com)