READING:
One-year plan: Proverbs 1-3, 2 Corinthians 1:1-2:4
Two-year plan: 2 Samuel 10-11, Luke 23:32-49
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Today’s reading begins the book of Proverbs, a book filled with general truths that speak practically to life. Specifically, they are a cry for living wisely — for fearing God and living accordingly. That theme is evident in the first three chapters.
1. A wise person will always be teachable. The person who thinks he knows it all has just shown his lack of wisdom — not his wisdom. The wise person clings to the lessons of the past, remains teachable today, and knows he will still have much to learn tomorrow.
2. The wise person fears God. Fear of the Lord is not some absolute dread, but nor is it some “sappy” polite respect; it is reverential awe of God. It is such an understanding of Him that love and obedience are also the necessary response. Disobedience is a sign we don’t fear God enough.
3. We are wise to cry out for wisdom. One of the themes of this book is that foolish people naturally go the wrong way. They go down the wrong path, make the wrong choice, follow the wrong woman, etc. Wise people recognize that all of us are prone to wandering in the wrong direction, so they cry out for wisdom each day.
4. Trusting in the Lord — not in myself — is wise. By my nature, I will mess up. I am learning every day that no matter how old I get, I need God’s wisdom every day. The words of Proverbs 3:5-7 are more than just verses to memorize; they are life: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Don’t consider yourself to be wise; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”
PERSONAL REFLECTION: Do you rely on the Lord for wisdom?
DAILY PRAYER: “Father, make me wise!”
TOMORROW’S READINGS:
One-year plan: Proverbs 4:1-6:19, 2 Corinthians 2:5-3:18
Two-year plan: 2 Samuel 12:1-13:20, Luke 23:50-56
*first published in 2015
