The Seasons of Motherhood

11
Apr
2023

Go to the Ant

I have been seeing and killing some black ants in my house. I always wonder where they come from and what makes them think coming inside is a good idea. I always see ants in my garden too. I move a rock or pull up a weed and they come scurrying trying to take their eggs to a safer place. We have all seen an ant carry an object bigger than itself. They have been documented to carry 20 times their body weight. If I carried 20 times by body weight, I would be able to carry 2,500 pounds. (If you do the math, you can figure out how much I weigh:). They will travel up to 700 feet from their nest for food, and will follow scent trails back to their nest after dark. Rather than sleep like humans do, they take eight minute power naps every 12 hours. Someone in the colony is always working. They are incredible creatures.

It is no wonder that God through the pen of Solomon told us to “Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” (Proverbs 6:6).

Solomon used the little ant as a reprove for those who are sluggards, in our terminology today they are lazy. What things can we learn from Scripture about the ant?

The 1st lesson we need to learn from the ant is that we need to be self-motivated and self-directed.

The ant does not have a “chief, officer, or ruler.” (Prov. 6:7) In other words, the ant does not have someone to tell it what to do. The ant does not need a boss telling them what time to be to work, what they are supposed to do for their work, and how much effort they are to put into their work. The ant is self-motivated and self-directed. How many company owners would love to have employees like this? We had some trees cut down last week. The guy who cut the trees down has done some work for us in the past. During previous times, he had multiple employees. This time it was just him and his dad. He told me that he had a hard time getting any reliable help that worked as hard as his dad did.

This concept is also applied in the home. Whether one is a spouse or a child, the concept of being self-motivated and self-directed goes a long way in building and maintaining godly home relationships. A child who is self-motivated or directed can see the things that need to be done such as keeping their room clean, picking up after themselves, or clearing the supper dishes. A spouse who is self-directed or motivated can also see the things that need to be done without having to always be asked to take care of needed chores around the house. A home is a team effort and when there is someone that spends most of their time sitting on the couch watching television or surfing their phone while the others are busy taking care of household chores, the “couch potato” would be considered a sluggard.

The 2nd lesson we need to learn from the ant is the need to plan ahead.

The ant “prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.” (Prov. 6:8). In other words, the ant prepares for times ahead. The ant knows that she needs to follow the calendar and prepare for when food is scarce. My husband comes from parents who are planners, hence my husband is a planner. They have lists for their lists. We like to talk about next Christmas before we even celebrate the current Christmas. I don’t even get a chore complete and he is planning for the next chore that needs to be done. The ant prepares and plans for the future. Again, an employer would love to have their employees plan for the future. Knowing what projects will take more time and planning accordingly.

The 3rd lesson we need to learn from the ant is the need to glorify God through our responsibilities.

A sluggard or a lazy person is found in bed more time than they are found on the job. (Prov. 6:9). When we miss work because we are in bed, call in sick as many days as possible, or are late to work because we overslept, we are lazy. God has given us responsibilities that we need to accomplish. These responsibilities are used so that we can fulfill our purpose in life, to glorify God. (Is. 43:7). If our employers or our families cannot count on us, then we are not glorifying God. Our families count on us to be carrying our load of the responsibilities. When our daughters lived under our roof, they each had responsibilities based on their age and abilities. They did not get the option to sit and play all day, but rather they had to get out of bed and do their chores. The same goes for a spouse. He or she must be reliable and fulfill their responsibilities and not place the burden of all responsibilities on the other. Our goal in our families is to seek to steward the relationships that God has given us in a way that glorifies Him.

The 4th lesson we learn from the ant is that their hands are busy.

The sluggard “folds his hands” (Prov. 6:10). It is hard to be busy with your hands when they are folded. No work can be done with folded hands. The result of these “folded hands” is “poverty” and “want.”  A lazy person will have folded hands that will result in not providing for the needs of their family. If a child’s responsibility is to load the dishwasher and they never do, the dishes will be dirty and the family will want for clean dishes to eat their meals on. If the husband and/or wife do not go to work to provide for the bills that must be paid, the family will experience “poverty” and “want.”

A sluggard is not just someone that fails to go to work to meet the everyday needs they have. A person can be a hard worker outside the home, but fail to “carry their weight” in the home. If they do this, they are also a sluggard.

In America we have become accustom to wanting life to be easy. When we desire ease, we fail to value hard work. This desire for an easy life can be seen in many different areas of our lives.

As you evaluate your life, think about how you respond in every circumstance. Do you want to glorify God and work hard, or do you want to take the sluggard’s way out? Are you self-motivated? Do you plan ahead? Do you glorify God in all your responsibilities? Are your hands folded or busy?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 1 comment
05
Apr
2023

Confusion or Clarity

There are various methods for Bible study. As I have been writing this blog on the book of Proverbs, I have been making columns of the positives and negatives that are in each chapter. It certainly has helped me to organize the main concepts and ideas in each chapter. Proverbs calls these positives and negatives the way of the wise and the way of the fool. How many of us want someone to call us a fool? Wise? There are many different characteristics that define those that are wise or foolish. While we are on this side of heaven there will daily be things in our lives that would be characterized as foolish. The goal that God has for us is that with each day we live more wisely and continue to put off the foolish ways of our old self. (Eph. 4: 22-24).

As we enter Proverbs 5, we see wisdom contrasted with foolishness. Both wisdom and foolishness are referred to often as “she.” Proverbs 5 has four main characters. The father is speaking again to his son. We have seen this in the last four chapters. He is telling his son that he needs to be aware of the “forbidden woman” and be satisfied with the love of his wife.

Just because the father is speaking to his son, does not mean that there are only principles for young men in this Proverbs. There are principles in this Proverb for all.

Solomon says again that his son needs to listen, be attentive, incline his ear, and not depart from the wise words he was sharing with his son.  How many times have we as parents told our kids the same thing only in different ways?

I homeschooled my kids. I remember teaching a concept to one of our daughters. I explained the concept to her a number of different ways. Finally, the last way she understood it and said, “Why didn’t you explain it to me this way in the first place?” We all have different learning styles. We explain things how we understand them best first. That is what I did in this particular situation, but that was not the best way for her learn.

God has been using the pen of Solomon to tell us the same thing in different ways over and over again, and will continue to do so throughout the entire book of Proverbs. Why? We all learn different ways, and need things explained in different ways.

We understand the wisdom that Solomon was trying to impart on his son and also consequently on us. He keeps reminding him to listen. Do we listen to those that are wise?

The negatives in this chapter are the description of the forbidden woman, but no one is saying that only women are evil and men are perfect. Since Solomon was speaking to his son in this book, he would be warning him about the forbidden woman. If he was speaking to his daughter, he would have warned her about the forbidden man.

Let’s look at these qualities of the foolish person. They are deceptive (Prov. 5:3), leave us with a feeling of uneasiness (5:4), lead to a bad/deadly outcome (5:5), no thought to the consequences of their actions (5:6), no direction or goals (5:6), and self-deceived (5:6).

What happens to us when we do not listen and allow our lives to become entangled with a foolish person? We will lose our reputation and our integrity (5:9). The foolish are deceivers and manage to swindle others. God has called us to be good stewards of what He has given to us, but when we seek to satisfy our selfish desires the satisfaction we are seeking through these selfish desires never satisfies.

What is the conclusion of this chapter that compares and contrasts the wise and the foolish person? Proverbs 5:12-14 tell us what the foolish person looks like so then the converse of this would be the characteristics of a wise person.

“And you say, ‘How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.’” (Prov. 5:1-14)

The wise person listens to those that are wise, searches God’s Word for the principles necessary to live a life of wisdom, and surrounds themselves with people that are wise. Do you run to God first when seeking to make a decision? Do you seek the counsel of those that are wise when making a decision? Do the people that you surround yourself with have godly goals?

The foolish person will leave us with a feeling of uneasiness or confusion. They will deceive you into helping them fulfill their desires, but have no care for what your desires are. They are seeking for others to meet their needs.

“For a man’s/woman’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.” (Prov. 5:21)

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22
Mar
2023

What Flows From Your Heart?

As our daughters grew up, we emphasized to them the value of saving their money. They would get birthday money or Christmas money, and we would encourage them to save it. We would go to the bank and they would put that money in the bank. We reminded them that they were saving their money to help pay for their college. They had a far off lofty goal that saving money would help pay for their college. When they were young, they did not quite understand what we meant by saving money for college. As they grew and matured, they began to understand what college was. We could have taken them to the store and given them the money so they could spend that money on a trinket that would not stand the test of time. There were some lessons to be learned in that exercise.

They learned saving (keeping), delayed gratification, value of money, goal-setting, planning, preparation, and wants vs. needs.

As we study the book of Proverbs, Solomon has taught us repeatedly that there is great value in listening. He encourages us to listen to those that are wise.

What is it we are supposed to do with these wise words?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

We need to keep these words in our hearts. This doesn’t mean that we need to have God’s Word tattooed to our hearts. The word “heart” incorporates our thoughts, our emotions, and our wills. The technical term for these is our cognition, affect, and volition. All of these are considered the components that make up the word “heart” in the Bible.

Solomon is telling us in this verse that that person that we are flows or comes from our hearts. Let’s break this concept down.

There are many circumstances that happen throughout our day. With every circumstance that comes into our paths, we have a thought. With every decision that we have to make, we have a thought. We could list any number of circumstances, but every single circumstance produces a thought- even if you think that there is no thought. Many times from these thoughts an emotion is felt. Now we have a decision to make: how will I act based on this thought and/or this emotion.

The more times you respond the same way to any circumstance, the more your responses become your character.

Let’s say that you just cleaned the house, and in runs the dog with muddy paws. Without even seeming to take time to process everything, you yell at the dog and chase it until you can catch it and wipe off its dirty paws. All of this happened so quickly. A circumstance happened, you had a thought “I just spent 4 hours cleaning the house,” and then you experienced a moment of anger, followed by yelling and chasing. The next time this happens you do the same thing. Eventually, this is who you are. The angry house cleaner.

How did you get this way?

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.” (Prov. 4:23).

What comes out of cup of coffee when you are bumped? Coffee.

What comes out of you, when you are bumped? In other words, when circumstances happen that disrupt what you want, what comes out of you?

The heart is our thoughts, emotions, and wills. What “flows” from you every time you are bumped?

If we do NOT store up the wise Words that God has given to us from His word as Solomon says we are to do, what flows from us WILL NOT be thoughts, words, and actions that reflect God and His Word.

If we store up the wise Words that God has given to us from His words as Solomon says we are to do, what flows from our thoughts, words, and actions WILL reflect God and His Word.

Just as our children saved or kept their money for a future goal in their lives, so we must store up or keep God’s Word in our hearts for the circumstances that are always coming across our path.

From our children’s savings’ accounts flowed money that would pay for college. From your heart will flow, what you have saved up and treasured in it.

Not sure what you are keeping in your heart? Begin to evaluate your responses to the circumstances of life. Ask yourself, “What am I wanting? What am I thinking? What am I feeling?”

Is your response honoring to the Lord? If you are not vigilant in keeping your heart filled with truths from God’s Word, you will live according to the lies of Satan.

“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 1 comment
15
Mar
2023

When Solomon Speaks…

As a child, I grew up in a small town. We had three different channels on T.V. maybe 4 on a good day. I was the remote control. My dad would have me stand at the T.V. and change the channel for him. For that matter, I was also the garage door opener. I can remember my dad falling asleep on the couch watching something on T.V. that I didn’t want to watch, so I would get up and slowly turn down the volume of what he was watching. Then I would change the channel and slowly turn up the volume. It was my finest hour if I could watch a show I wanted to watch and he remained asleep. Remember, there were only 3-4 channels to watch so the choices weren’t that great.

There is one commercial that I still remember to this day. It ran for about 15 years. The commercial was generally set with a crowd of people. One person would lean in as if to tell a secret to another person, and say “My broker is E.F. Hutton, and E. F. Hutton says.” When the actor said E.F Hutton a hush would fall over the crowd and everyone would stop what they were doing and lean in so they could hear the financial advice that came from E.F. Hutton. We never would hear what E.F. Hutton was advising, but we certainly knew that whatever it was, it must be worth listening to.

As I have been studying and writing these blogs on Proverbs, I have been reminded of the E.F Hutton commercial. Each chapter that we have looked at so far keeps reminding us to listen. Proverbs 4:1 starts with “hear.” Solomon doesn’t tell us over and over to talk. Rather, he tells us to hear. He tells us to hear, to be attentive.

Solomon, who wrote Proverbs, was the son of King David and Bathsheba. King David is said to be a “man after God’s own heart.” (I Sam. 13:14). King David who killed a lion and a bear with his slingshot as a boy, and then killed the mighty giant Goliath. King David who humbly served King Saul and would do nothing to hurt “God’s anointed.” (I Sam 24:10). King David who was anointed to be King by God and Samuel, but he would not take the throne from Saul. He honored Saul, even though Saul was not honorable.

This same David was the father of Solomon. Was David perfect? No. He committed some sins that most of us would count as big bad sins. Yet, Solomon saw the value of listening to his father. “When I (Solomon) was a son with my father (King David), tender (meaning he was young) the only one in the sight of my mother (Bathsheba). He (King David) taught me and said to me (Solomon), ‘Let your heart hold fast my words; keep my commandments, and live. Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.’” (Proverbs 4:3-5).

The beauty of this whole thing is that Solomon valued what he learned from his father so much, he taught it to his son. “Hear, my son, and accept my words.” (Prov. 4:10).

Imagine with me being in the court of Solomon. There is conversation going on around in Solomon’s court. Then Solomon clears his throat and says to his son, “Son, be attentive, Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will keep you; love her, and she will guard you. The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. Prize her highly, and she will exalt you; she will honor you if you embrace her. She will place on your head a graceful garland; she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.” (Proverbs 4:5-9).

Solomon is telling his son that in order to have the honor that his father David had, “he needed to listen to what he had to say, and do not forsake his teaching.” (Prov. 4:2).

In other words, when Solomon speaks, everyone listens.

There is nothing more sweet to a parent than to hear their children repeat the things that they have heard their parents say. Imagine how proud David would have been to know that Solomon was quoting him to his son. When we teach and live out what we have been taught, we know that it has taken root.

In order to be wise, Solomon says we must listen. In order to listen, we must be humble. Those that were surrounding the actor quoting E.F. Hutton knew that what E.F Hutton says was worth listening to. This requires humility to realize that you don’t know everything and need to learn from those who do.

“I have taught you the way of wisdom; I have led you in the paths of uprightness. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered, and if you run, you will not stumble.” (Proverbs 4:11, 12)

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08
Mar
2023

Principles

Have you had a conversation with someone, and you did not see to eye on the situation? It could be a situation with a family member, friend, co-worker, or a boss. What about a decision you needed to make and there were multiple options to choose from, maybe there were only two options to choose from?

Life is about circumstances and choices. We are constantly inundated with circumstances and choices.

As we continue to look at Proverbs, we continue to see throughout the book that making wise choices and responding wisely in the midst of each circumstance will bring us blessings and peace. Wisdom is essentially living according to godly ways and godly principles. We have two choices in how to live life: wisely or foolishly.

How many times have we struggled to make a decision or struggled in how to respond in the midst of a circumstance? If we are seeking to follow God’s principles, our first step is to follow James 1:5 “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him.”

What has God given us to help us in respond wisely in all circumstances and make godly choices? The first thing we must follow is His Word. Does God’s Word give us the answer to our question? It may not specifically tell us what job to take, what church to attend, what person to marry, who to become friends with, or where to go on vacation; but it gives us very direct principles to answer these questions.

II Peter 1:3 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.”

How do we know how to live a “life of godliness?”  “Through the knowledge of Him who called us” (II Peter 1:3.

Do you seek God’s Word and seek to find principles that pertain to your decision or circumstance or do you seek the option that you think in the moment will make you happy?

We are in the second half of Proverbs 3, and in it there are three principles that will help us to life a life of godliness.

  1. Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. (Prov. 3:27)

The verses that follow (Prov. 3:28-32) tell us not to turn someone away when you can be of assistance, do not plan to do evil against another, do not strive with someone for no reason, do not envy another, and do not be devious.

How often do we treat others through the lens of our own selfishness? We want something and we want the other person to provide it for us. We want something and someone else is getting in the way of what we want. We treat others selfishly rather than “treat others as you want to be treated.” (Mt. 7:12)

  1. To the humble he gives favor (Proverbs 3: 34)

C.S. Lewis said that humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. When we are humble, we realize our own inadequacies and weaknesses. We realize that someone may be better able to accomplish the task. Humility is allowing someone else to get the praise for something and not trying to steal the recognition from them. Humility is realizing that you don’t always have the answers and need to seek wise counsel.  Three times in Proverbs 3 Solomon says “my son,”  reminding the reader that often our parents know us better than any other person and know us better than we know ourselves. It is a wise parent that will take their child to God’s Word to assist them in making a decision or navigate a circumstance. So often we see children buck at the teaching of their parents because they want to do it in the famous words of Frank Sinatra “My Way.” Do you want favor? Solomon says in order to gain favor, we must be humble.

  1. The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace. (Proverbs 3:35).

Would you rather live a life with honor or disgrace? Since we are made in the image of God (Gen.1:27), God has given us the play book on how to live life. The play book is His Word. He has told us repeatedly that living a life of wisdom will bring about honor, but being foolish will be disgraceful. When we see someone that explodes in anger, is always “negative Nancy,” goes to a substance for comfort, always looks out for their own interests, dishonors God, or dishonors their parents, we see someone who is foolish. Have you seen these people in real life? Do you see the fruits of their wisdom or the fruits of their foolishness? Are they people that are honorable that you want to spend time with or are they people that are a disgrace.

The book of Proverbs is a book of principles. Solomon was letting us know that as he observed life this is what he saw. He saw that the typical wise person was honorable and the typical foolish person was a disgrace. The typical humble person received favor. The typical wise person offered to help those in need.

When faced with a circumstance or a choice to make, what will you do? You must seek God’s Word for a principle or command to follow in making that choice. No matter what the choice, there is a godly principle to help us navigate the way wisely.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
22
Feb
2023

Who will win?

I love a good competition. I was born into a family that loved competition, and I married a man who loves competition. We enjoy playing games just the two of us. (By the way, the last game we played, I won:)

Competition can be a good thing. Have you noticed, though, the amount of things that are always fighting for our attention? Let’s just name a few things to get us both on the same page: Phone calls, texts, emails, social media, music, advertisements, podcasts, books, television, friends, family, work, books we read, house work, meal prep, laundry. The list could be endless. As I was thinking about what I needed to accomplish today, I decided I would get done the most pressing thing with the nearest deadline.

We all have choices as we go through our days because so many things are competing for our attention. How do we decide what to choose to do and what we will fill our time with?

Proverbs 2 tells us about a few things that are competing for our attention, and as we analyze these things what is best should rise to the surface as we read about it in the Bible. However, as we get caught up in the whirlwind of our days, it may not seem so obvious on what we should choose.

Read through the box below and take some time to ponder what is in each column and the contrast that the first column – the way of wisdom from the Lord – and the other two columns that are the way of destruction.

Proverbs 2:6-11, 20-21 Proverbs 2: 12- 15 Proverbs 2:16-19, 22
The Lord gives wisdom The way of evil The forbidden woman
From His mouth comes knowledge and understanding Men with perverted speech Adulteress
He stores up sound wisdom for the upright Forsake the path of uprightness Smooth words
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity Walk in the ways of darkness Forsakes the companion of her youth
He guards the paths of justice Rejoice in doing evil Forgets the covenant of her God
He watches over the way of His saints Delight in the perverseness of evil Her house sinks down to death
You will understand righteousness,  justice, equity, every good path Men whose paths are crooked Her paths lead to the departed
Wisdom will come into your heart Devious in their ways None who go to her come back
Knowledge will be pleasant to your soul Nor do they regain the paths of life
Walk in the way of good
Keep to the paths of the righteous
The upright will inhabit the land
Those with integrity will remain in it

God’s ways protect us from harm. His ways are pleasant. His ways are good. His path is straight. His ways provide peace.

The ways of the man with perverted speech and the forbidden woman provide nothing good. The difficulty is that these ways are deceitful. We do not realize we are on this path at first. It seems to be fulfilling our desires and longings. We would call these people in our language today manipulators. They make us think that their ways are good for us and will provide us with the peace we are longing for. We think that their ways will bring fulfillment to what we want. What they really do is bring chaos into our lives. Their words and their actions bring chaos. Their words and actions cause you turn away from those who really love and care for you. They do this because they twist the words and actions of others into something they are not. Today, we call this gas lighting.

However, as we begin on this crooked path ourselves we are blind because the way is “dark.” We find ourselves making excuses to those that truly love and care for us. As we head down this “dark and crooked” path, the ones that love us are like Proverbs 8:1 “Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice?” Wisdom calls out after those that are on the dark crooked path, but the further they get down this path they can no longer hear what wisdom is saying. The further they get from the voice of wisdom, the closer they get to destruction.

What is competing for your attention? What is competing for your thoughts? What is competing for your time? What is competing for your treasure (money)? What is competing for desires?

What is competing for your heart?

Stop and look around what path you are on. If you do not know, ask those that love you the most. If you do not know who loves you the most, ask your pastor. Many people have wise parents that would also love to give some wise counsel. You may not want to ask the ones right next to you because they may be on the same dark crooked path that you are. We need those that are wise in our lives so they can speak God’s truth into our lives. We need them to help provide that discernment in the midst of the competition

“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.” (Prov. 2:1, 2)

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08
Feb
2023

Then You Will Understand

As we study the book of Proverbs there are some key threads that can be found in almost every chapter, fear the Lord and listen to those that are wise. If we were to outline the book almost every topic would be able to fall under these two major categories.

As we dive into Proverbs 2, both of these major themes are interwoven. As I have grown in the Lord and been seeing the things of my heart revealed through various circumstances that happen, I see how valuable fearing the Lord is.

Proverbs 2:5 tells us “THEN you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.”

If we look at the verses preceding verse 5, we can see what the prescription is for understanding the fear of the Lord and finding “the knowledge of God.”

Proverbs 2:1 tells us to “receive God’s words and treasure up His commandments.”

We must receive God’s Words. When we receive something we have the idea of accepting it. Have you ever taken something, but did not really want it? One of my daughters (who shall remain anonymous) had asked for a specific shirt for Christmas. I saw one that was similar and I really liked it, so I bought it for her instead. It was not the one that she wanted. She opened the present and took it home with her, but most likely won’t wear it or will wear it for yard work or as a paint shirt. However, when I got her something that she really did want she told me all about how she was going to use it and how much this was going to be helpful in her life. This is what receiving God’s Words is like.

We sit in church, read our Bibles, go to a Sunday School class, or listen to a podcast and hear the Words of God, but what do we do with them? Are we like the shirt that was opened but not used for its intended purpose? We hear the words, but there is no application or change in our lives? Or are we like the other gift that will transform our lives and bring about change.

When we receive God’s Word and treasure it, there will be change. There cannot help but be change. However, when we accept the gift of God’s Word, but do not see the value and the treasure that it will add to our lives it is in essence going in one ear and out the other. No brain cells captured the words of wisdom.

Proverbs 2:2 tells us that we must “make our ear attentive to wisdom and incline our heart to understanding.” This sounds purposeful. This is not something that happens naturally. We are naturally bent towards laziness and gluttony or the satisfaction of our sinful desires. We don’t want to listen to wisdom if it contradicts the desires of our hearts. Have you ever taken a moment and actually thought about what you really wanted? Try it and see what you come up with. Would you be like Solomon who asked God for wisdom when you could get whatever desire you wanted?

Proverbs 2:3, 4 concludes in telling us what we must do in order to understand the Fear of the Lord.

“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” (Proverbs 2:3, 4)

These verses are telling us that every part of our lives is seeking wisdom. We are listening for wisdom. We are seeking wisdom from all the right sources. We are searching for it like we would a lost treasure.

My husband and I love to watch mystery shows. Right now we are watching a show that involves some college students searching for a lost treasure that was hidden by three different tribes of Indians to keep it safe. They are setting aside everything in their lives and laying aside their own personal safety to find this treasure. Their goal in life is to find the treasure.

Is your goal in life no matter the cost to seek wisdom? Godly Wisdom? When you receive this godly wisdom do you seek to use it in your everyday life or do you cast it aside because it does not help you in satisfying your desires?

The key to understanding the Fear of the Lord is searching for wisdom from the right sources and then using it daily in your life because it is a treasure!

“Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs 2:5)

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25
Jan
2023

Valuable Words

As we continue our study of Proverbs, let us revisit the definition of wisdom. What is wisdom? Wisdom is the ability to navigate life. Everyone is navigating life. The question is how are we navigating life? The remainder of Proverbs 1 gives us some clues as to how to determine if you are navigating life in a way of wisdom or a way of folly. Every decision we make will affect our lives. We do not realize or think about how each decision will impact the decisions we make in the future.

We all understand this when it comes to what we eat, at least I think we do.  If you eat 1 doughnut every day, that does not seem to be that big of a deal, but that 1 doughnut provides no nutritional value and adds calories that our body has to burn. Pretty soon we will have added 20 pounds to our body and our joints will wear out sooner and our cholesterol will be elevated. One doughnut seems like no big deal, but over time that choice will affect our future health.

Wisdom

How we navigate life – WISDOM – is made up of tiny little choices that we make every day.

My last two blogs (To Know and Receive Wisdom and Fear God or Foolishness) gave us an introduction to Proverbs. The remainder of Proverbs chapter one I have condensed into two different lists. The two lists are the way of wisdom and the foolishness.

The first thing on the list is to listen to your father and your mother’s teaching. The book of Proverbs is addressed to a “son” of Solomon. The word “son” is used 55 times in the book of Proverbs. The word “Father” is used 26 times and the word “Mother” is used 14 times.

Solomon is trying to tell his son and also all of those that have come after him that read the book of Proverbs that the most important thing we can do in order to be wise and navigate life in a way that is wise is to listen as children to our parents and to their teaching.

Listen

Why should a child listen to their parents? God gave each parent the child/children that He knew would need those parents. I could have had any number of parents and yet God chose the parents that he knew that I needed. He chose the parents that He knew you needed as well. He chose the children you have to be your children.

1. Lived Life

Since God chose these particular people to be our parents, there must be a reason or two. The first reason is that each of our parents have lived life longer than we have. They have made decisions, both good and bad decisions, and they want to be sure that you learn from them so you do not make the same poor choices that have hurt them or you make the same godly choices that have helped them.

2. Know Us

The second reason that we need to listen to our parents is because they know us. Just as God knows everything about us, He has given us parents that know us. They know what we like and what we don’t like. They know our strengths and our weaknesses. They have walked through every day of life with us so they know and share the memories that we have.

Whenever there is a choice to make, we should consult our parents and include them in our decisions. As we age, we begin to make decisions on our own because we have been practicing with our parents how to navigate life –WISDOM- in a way that is honoring God.

Our parents have sacrificed so much for us. I have sacrificed so much for my kids, and I would do it all over again. Parents have done so much to invest in the lives of their kids. Why would we not want their input and words of wisdom in our lives? Why would we shy away from their advice?

If we do shy away from their advice, what is our reasoning? Do we shy away from their advice, because it contradicts what we want? We must ask ourselves, why does it contradict?

As we continue the study the book of Proverbs, we will delve into these ideas in future blog posts. For now, consider with me how valuable your parents are and how valuable the words they want to share with you are.

Proverbs 1:8 “Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching”

 

I have also kept the list in this post of what we see in someone that is wise and someone that is foolish from Proverbs 1.

 

Wise

Hear your father’s instruction

Do not forsake your mother’s teaching

Does not consent to enticement by sinners/foolish

Does not walk in the way with the foolish

Wisdom cries aloud the truth

Dwell secure

Easier life in the end because of the difficult choice to listen to wisdom in the beginning

Does not dread what is to come

Foolish

Entice others

Looks for ways to ambush the innocent –manipulates others

Looks for ways to take from others

Manipulates them into thinking that they will split all things (v. 14)

Runs to evil

Greedy

Takes from others unjustly

Simple

Scoff at the truth

Hate knowledge

Refuses to listen

Ignores wisdom’s counsel

Calamity will strike

Will be distressed and anguished

Hate knowledge

Did not choose the fear of the Lord

They will get what is coming to them because of their foolish choices

Complacent

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18
Jan
2023

Fear God or Foolishness

The theme of the book of Proverbs is generally agreed to be Proverbs 1:7.

Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

There are 2 groups of people in this verse. Those that fear the Lord and those that do not.  I understand things so much better if I break them down into a list and sometimes I need a picture to also help me illustrate the point. Let’s make a list out of this verse.

Fear the Lord

Accept/admire/cherish wisdom

Accept/admire/cherish instruction

Fear the Lord

Beginning of knowledge

Fools

Despise Wisdom

Despise Instriction

Dishonor/scorn/insult the Lord

No Knowledge

In order to fear the Lord, we must first be willing to be humble before the Lord. We have to realize that the answers to life’s most important questions are found in God’s Word. When faced with any decision in life whether big or small, we must seek God through prayer and reading His Word to find answers. When we are not sure what choice we should make, we must seek the counsel of those that are wise.

Since we see that a fool despises wisdom and instruction, we see that the fool is seeking to make themselves happy. They do not want someone to get in the way of their happiness. If they seek the counsel of someone that disagrees with their desires, they will reject their wise counsel.

A fool wants to satisfy their desires for happiness or admiration from others. Maybe they see their way of doing things as an easier way of life. It could be that following the path of wisdom will be hard.

The book of Proverbs is a manual that helps us understand how to live. It helps us understand the character of mankind. What are the characteristics of a wise person? What are the characteristics of a foolish person?

Solomon wrote the book of Proverbs to his son. Solomon had many sons and there is not a specific son that it was written to, but it was written so his children could learn from the wisdom that he had been given by God.  However, we see in I Kings 12 that his son did not learn the wisdom that his father was hoping to pass on to him.

“And Solomon slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David his father. And Rehoboam his son reigned in his place.” (I Kings 11:43). Rehoboam was faced with a decision to lighten the work load that his father had put upon the people or make it heavier. So Rehoboam sought counsel with his father’s advisors and then he sought counsel with the young men who he had grown up with. He listened to his friends rather than the wise counsel from his father’s advisors. The people revolted and Rehoboam feared for his life. This is known as Rehoboam’s folly.

As we seek to become wise people, we need to be sure that the people we spend most of our time with and people we go to for advice are wise. Do these people that I seek advice from cherish instruction? Are they humble?

What do we do when we have conflicting words of advice from different people, or what someone shares with us conflicts with our own desires? What do we do?

  1. Go back to God’s Word
  2. Pray
  3. Be sure that the people you are seeking advice from are godly

If we make a decision that is in contradiction to God’s Word, it is not a wise choice. Just because something feels right doesn’t make it right. Eating a quart of ice cream in one sitting feels good, but is it wise? We cannot make a decision based on our feelings. They will change. We must make our decisions based on the solid truth of Scripture.

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11
Jan
2023

To Know and Receive Wisdom

I have been reading the book of Proverbs every day for many years. I know that I have been reading one chapter a day for as long as we have lived in our current home, so that would be six years. The book of Proverbs was written by Solomon, the wisest of men. God asked Solomon what he wanted, and rather than asking for great riches or great power Solomon asked God for wisdom. (I Kings 3:5-14).

I have been reading the book of Proverbs along with other books of the Bible desiring to become wise. I ask God so often to give me wisdom, and yet I still feel so foolish. I know there is still so much more for me to learn and know. There is so much more for me to understand. One of the things that I do know is that I learn best by studying and then teaching what I learn to others.

It has been a while since I have consistently written my blog. Part of me has not known what to write about, and part of me decided that I was too busy. We will know as time goes by if this will continue to be a priority, or if it will fall by the wayside. So many things I enjoy doing and that clamor for my time.

Please, begin this study of Proverbs with me through this blog. I want to learn out loud if you will. As I learn and share the way of wisdom that God is teaching me, won’t you come along with me and learn.

The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, King Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight,

To receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity;

To give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth” (Proverbs 1:1-4)

 

The first thing I notice as I look at these verses is how each verse starts: to know, to receive, to give.

In order to give, we must first know and receive. The purpose of Proverbs is to become wise. I am pretty sure not too many people walk around saying, “I want to be a fool.” Most people would willingly admit that they want to be wise.

What is the requirements for being wise? “To know and to receive.” Before we can give out wisdom, we must be humble and respectful and willing to take in wisdom, instruction, and understanding.

How do we become wise? By listening. As we read through the book of Proverbs, the word listen or hear is used 30 times. There are other words that the author also uses that would indicate we need to be listening such as “receive” or be “attentive.”

The point that Solomon wants us to take with us from the book of Proverbs is that we need to listen to those that are wise. We need to willingly receive instruction from those who are wise. We cannot give knowledge and prudence (discernment) to others if we ourselves do not possess wisdom.

As I have gone through various situations in life, I seek to gain wisdom and prudence from those that have traveled the path of life before me. I diligently search God’s Word for answers to how to navigate difficult situations. I seek to have wise people in my life so that I can talk with them and ask them for direction. I spend much time in prayer seeking the Giver of perfect wisdom to discern how to handle a situation or navigate a difficult decision.

So when you are faced with a choice, no matter how great or how small, where do you turn?

As some of you may know, one of the things that I do is provide Biblical Counseling to others. I went through the requirements to become a certified Biblical Counselor. I was talking with one of my counselees this morning and she shared with me how important my encouragement to her to read God’s Word every day was. She said it has been so helpful in her life.

Are you reading God’s Word every day seeking to gain wisdom in the many situations you will face today? Start your day off with reading the book that God gave us so we know how to live in the way of wisdom and not the way of folly. This is the way “to know and to receive wisdom and instruction.”

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