Tonight I attended a very cultural party tonight with some of my friends, Carlos, Pedro, Pablo, Gabrielle to name just a few, and I walked down a river. But never made it back up. SO, needless to say I have had a full day. However, Prov 3 is the perfect ending, or las finale perfecto as some would say an espanol.
I especially liked vs. 19: "By wisdom the Lord laid the earth's foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the deeps were divided and the clouds let drop the dew."
This really spoke to me as a follow up to the earlier command in Prov 3, that we've all heard 25 million times, "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths."
Who is this Lord we are supposed to trust in instead of going by what I had felt/thought/planned? Oh, he was just the one that by his wisdom, he made the earth. No biggie. Um....newsflash. That is actually a biggie. Pretty sure if the Lord's wisdom was so powerful he made the earth, he can handle guiding me in the job he wants me to be in, the next path he wants me to take in life, getting me through those hard days at work, guiding my conversations, and every other thing I question/try and take over by my own understanding.
I'd rather have my trust in God, than put my trust in me....the one who got "stuck" in an elevator and almost called the emergency squad in. I feel like that's living proof right there. The next time you don't want to hand something over to God or fully trust in him, just think of the fact that if you leave it to yourself, you are essentially just trapping yourself in an elevator with no way out. Until you surrender your trust to him, and acknowledge it's his wisdom and his knowledge and power we are reliant on. Then He will show you which button to push so you get off at the right floor.
(Please say that elevator analogy kinda worked? It's late :) )
I also love verse 3- let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart." I want to consciously think about that when I go on my day to day normal doings, and conversations this week- am I walking around every day with an abundance of love to share with whoever I run into (just as Christ did) and a faith that knows, unquestionably, how solid the God is that I trust in.
Oh, the elevator analogy works.
ReplyDeleteI like to think that 3:5 connects up with the beginning of the LORD's response to Job (Job 38:1-4, for those following along):
"Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding."
I think, like you said: part of the foundation of wisdom is humility, of understanding that wisdom is a gift from the Creator of all and not something we can do ourselves. Although I think the elevator story sums it up much more nicely.