Last week…

Chapter one states the intent of this book and God’s larger intent for your life.

God wants to make your life and your world better.  God gets you.  God is for you.  God loves you.

To enjoy the fruit of Gods wisdom you must have a reverence-saturated respect for God as your foundation.  You grow that reverence by spending time with him reading his word, meditating on his word and by cultivating a rich, continual prayer life.

This week’s main point

God’s wisdom means nothing if you don’t trust him.  If you want to grown in wisdom, if you want to see the results of wisdom in your life you have to make a decision to trust him and to heed his words and accept his direction.  Unless and until you do so wisdom is worthless.

The 22 verses of chapter two are broken into 3 sections.

• The proposition
• The payoff
• The protection

The proposition

Wisdom’s power to change every facet of your life for the better is amazing and to be desired.  But wisdom’s power is either limited or activated by your faith.

The first big question is:

“Will you heed my words and accept my direction?”

The power of everything AFTER this verse depends soley on how you respond.  This is a binary decision.  It’s yes or no.  It’s 1 or zero.  It’s black or white.

The book of Proverbs is coaching you from the very beginning in the fine art of making wise choices.  This is your first test.  Every day this is a question you can use as a kind of wisdom filter.

If you answer yes then the next step is to pursue God’s words and direction with passion, persistence, patience and purpose.  If you do so, then there is a payoff.  There is a tremendous upside.

This chapter also sets up the “if”/”then” challenge.

In computer programming the if/then logic sequence is used to write code.  If you press “this” key then “this” happens.  If you press “that” key then “that” happens.  You get the idea.

Life has laws and consequences.  God’s love is unconditional.  Life is not.  If you trust God with the “if’s” you will be happier with your “then’s”.  Given the fact that he created and sustains every law (physical & spiritual) upon which our world is based it makes since to trust his word.

The Payoff

Saying yes to God leads to a domino effect of blessings.  When you say “yes” Your relationship with and reverence for God surge.  You understand the fear of the Lord, righteousness, justice, fairness and every good path.  That knowledge co-mingled with unflinching faith in God gives you the ability to make better life choices.  Better choices, better life.  Saying NO to go has a domino affect too.

The Protection

The upgrade in discernment will protect you from the people, pleasures and pitfalls that stand ready to consume and confine you at any given moment.  The wrong men in your life can be devastating.  The wrong women in your life can be devastating.  The wrong habits in your life can be devastating.  Wisdom teaches you to see the danger before it sees you.

The Conclusion

At the end of it all you’re left with a choice.  And you are instructed to choose wisely.

A life based on God’s wisdom involves only one choice.  Choosing to trust him.  IF you choose him THEN you will know wisdom.

The Challenge

Answer the question.  Every day just answer the question

(c) 2012 Hallerin Hilton Hill

Wisdom House Publishing