Proverbs 1.1-2: Finding Wisdom
“The proverbs of Solomon son of David, king of Israel: for attaining wisdom and discipline; for understanding words of insight…”
We’re already off on the wrong foot. You don’t find wisdom, you grow in it. Wisdom can come from many sources, but the fullness of wisdom comes from God alone (Rom. 16.27; Prov. 2.6)). God is wise, just as he is love and truth.
Do you want to be wise? Be careful what you wish for, because the road to wisdom is a tough one. Wisdom comes mostly from forcing yourself to learn the hard lessons from difficult times. When our lives are out of balance or when things don’t make sense is when we’re challenged to figure out why and push through it. We seek God in His Word, because the best and deepest wisdom comes from Him. We listen to and learn from wise and godly counselors—other people who can help us with the next step. We process our experiences through the filter of faith—and little by little we attain wisdom.
People think, from James 1.5, that you can pray for wisdom and God will just back up the truck and unload it on you in answer to your prayers. But nothing could be further from the truth. If you’re going to read James 1.5 and seize on it as a promise, you also have to read James 1.2-4 and seize on it as the truth that leads to v. 5. Wisdom is attained by a sluggish, tedious trek through good and miserable experiences, through suffering and confusion, until we slowly learn how the world works and how to make good decisions. God gives us wisdom over a long period of time as we learn in humility and faith.
Not what you wanted to hear? Oh, you wanted it to be easier than that. Sorry. Nothing worthwhile is easy.