“If you live a life guided by wisdom, you won’t limp or
stumble as you run.” Proverbs 4:12
You can’t go wrong
by turning to Proverbs for guidance about life.
This popular book of God’s word is full of its own “wisdom,” reminding
us about what’s important and what things we should stay away from unless we
want to make our lives more painful and difficult. Looking back at my student
Bible from high school, I have numerous verses highlighted that continue to
speak to me when I fall back into bad habits or I’m going through a tough time.
For example, “Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs”
(10:12) and “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it
will eat its fruit” (18:21). The funny
thing about wisdom is that it takes a lifetime to gain, so I figure even though
I really haven’t gained that wisdom yet, if I just apply God’s instructions and
trust in Him (“Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he
who trust in the Lord.” 16:20), I will be able to make it through life with
relatively few stumbles or at least only minor ones. After all, “There is no wisdom, no insight,
no plan that can succeed against the Lord” (21:30) and “Humility and fear of
the Lord bring wealth and honor and life” (22:4). If you do not have the time to read more than
one chapter a day from the Bible, start with Proverbs as the reading is easy
(no long list of families or detailed descriptions about the way things used to
be for those living long ago), but it is chock full of wisdom!! “Apply your
heart to instruction and your ears to words of knowledge” (23:12). What better
“words of knowledge” could you find than those in the 31 short chapters of the
book of Proverbs?
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