ResponsiveReiding

” My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear attentive to wisdom and inclining your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice and watching over the way of his saints.” (Proverbs 2:1-8, ESV)

Part 1 / Wisdom and spiritual knowledge are not gained by osmosis, sporadic study, lazy attempts at searching out God’s Word or abstract magical insights. We must set a value on it first. Treat it like treasure. Keeping our eye and ear peeled for it – looking for it all the time. Praying for it and then taking the pick and shovel and digging, sifting, searching, refining, and looking for more. Nothing less will yield the result of understanding the fear of the Lord, and finding the knowledge of God.

Notice Solomon’s keys here for gaining God’s wisdom:

1. God’s Word must be RECEIVED (vs. 1). We cannot obtain and understand the Word, if we do not take it in. We must be receiving it. Do you take it in every day? Then how will you understand and apply it?

2. God’s Word must be TREASURED (vs. 1). We must count His communication to us as valuable. Every syllable. Nothing omitted. God never makes small talk. Everything He has to say is of eternal importance. Do I treat His Word as an inestimable treasure?

3. My heart must be ATTENTIVE to His Word (vs. 2). I cannot just let it pass in one ear and out of the other. I must take it in, consider it, mull it over until I understand it and think about its implications. Otherwise, it will do me no more good than rubbing an aspirin on my head in an attempt to ease a headache.

4. I must INCLINE my heart to understanding (vs. 2). I must have a heart that intends to respond positively to what is heard. I must want to know the truth. If I have no intention of obeying God’s Word, it will not yield its treasures up to me.

5. I must PRAY to understand and apply it (vs. 3). I must CALL OUT, and RAISE [my] VOICE to God in regard to it. I must make my application to the Author, to have Him give me the same light to read it by, that He penned it by. The same Holy Spirit who breathed it into the human scribes, must breathe it afresh in me if it is to have any effect. And I must be actively engaged in the pursuit of that in prayer if I would have it become my own.

6. I must SEEK for it. (vs. 4) Those who sit back waiting for God’s wisdom to just seep into their brains and hearts without doing the necessary labor – are in for a rude awakening. You cannot sit in a vat of food and imagine you’ll get nutrition. One must do all the necessary work of planting, cultivating, harvesting, preparing, cooking – and yes – eating.

7. THEN – and ONLY then, will we actually obtain. (vss. 5-8). Because true Godly wisdom is something we can gain only from Him Himself. And this, is how He desires for us to get it from His own hand.

Proverbs 21:25–26 (ESV)

25 The desire of the sluggard kills him,

for his hands refuse to labor.

26 All day long he craves and craves,

but the righteous gives and does not hold back.

What a horrible existence it is for one to be constantly filled with longings for spiritual growth and fruit, and at the same time be utterly unwilling to expend any time, effort or energy to obtain it. Many a man or woman “wishes” they knew the Bible better, or had a rich prayer life, or ministered to others or had money to give or walked in holiness or had faith – who never do a thing toward attaining any of them. One must read and study their Bible to know it. One must pray, to have a prayer life. One must work to have something to give to others; put away sin to walk in holiness and trust in order for faith to grow. Alas – they will simply bewail their lack instead of investing anything tangible in supplying it. Instead, the sluggard will be jealous of the walk others have. They’ll buy into spiritual “get godly quick schemes”. They’ll have every excuse in the book as to why their case is unique – and often even blame God because in His sovereignty He hasn’t seen fit to give such spirituality to them as He has to others. And all of this is owing to one thing – their own laziness.

Heavenly Father, forgive me for how often this has been my own case.

If you haven’t read my own review of the Shack HERE I would encourage you to.

That being said, CHRISTIANITY TODAY has published a superior review written by KATHERINE JEFFREY, and you can read it by clicking HERE.

Jeffrey is insightful and spot on in my view. This is one to print off and pass on to your friends who may be reading The Shack, and not understanding the real issues in it.