Can You Hear the Voice of Wisdom?

Can you hear the voice of wisdom? Not always an easy voice to hear especially in our extremely loud culture. But the voice is always there calling out to us if we are willing to silence the other voices and listen.

A few weeks ago I hit Psalm 150 in my daily quiet time reading and normally the next day I would start all over again with Psalm 1. But something nudged me to flip over a page and start praying through the book of Proverbs.  I’ll be honest, nothing against the Proverbs but the Psalms are my happy place.

Perhaps it is the season I’m in or all that is going on in our world, but I have been so blessed by the Spirit speaking to me in this book of Wisdom. I’m trying not to rush through but rather soak in every verse and just listen. This is what I’m hearing, Wisdom is a timeless gift to receive wherever the day may bring.

Solomon, who wrote most of these poetic truths, was honored by God as he sought the gift of wisdom above all else(1 Kings 3). During his reign the kingdom grew and the people experienced a heavenly shalom. Sadly, later on Solomon turned away from the voice of wisdom and seeds of chaos were planted that eventually divided the kingdom in the next generation.

Proverbs tells us that wisdom is birthed when we come to know “the fear of the LORD,” (1:7). The Hebrew word for “fear” implies so much more than our English word. The best way I can wrap my mind around this word “fear” is to describe it as daily being consumed by the glorious beauty of God.  When I encounter His glory wisdom will be revealed. And we know the revelation of wisdom ultimately is from the lineage of Solomon: Jesus (See Isa. 11:1-2, 1 Cor. 1:30, Col. 2:3).

Encountering the glorious face of Jesus will lead to a life of surrender and obedient worship, which is a life directed by Wisdom. How thankful I am for a Sunday School teacher who had me memorize Proverbs 3:5-6.  I had no idea at the time how key that verse would be for a life guided by Wisdom.

To me this proverb means placing my life in the the faithful hands of Jesus even when life doesn’t make sense, continuing to seek after Him, and desiring to know Him with the deepest longing in my heart.  A wonderful promise follows: “He will direct my path,”  His wisdom will lead me and will lead you into His forever Kingdom of loving peace!

All the voices we continue to hear from our loud and proud world offering to fill our emptiness only lead to a banquet of pain, shame, and spiritual death. But how different the voice of Wisdom, it is a voice that brings us to a table of healing, forgiveness, hope, and an everlasting love the fills our greatest need to belong.

With all the voices yelling out to you I pray that you will listen to Wisdom.  I challenge you to put aside social media for a time and tune into the Spirit’s voice. Maybe turn to the book of Proverbs, listen to Jesus’ voice, and find the shalom you were created for.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.”

 – Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV