The Lord Gives Wisdom

August 3, 2025

In the first nine chapters of Proverbs, Solomon tells his readers about the contrast between wisdom and folly. The paragraph summary in my Bible tells me Proverbs chapter 2 is about the value of wisdom. John Wayne once said, “Life is hard. It’s even harder when you're stupid.” While I can’t speak for you, after paying a lot of “stupid tax” in my life, I realize I need all the wisdom I can get, so I spent this morning reading and meditating on this chapter. Verses 6-8 especially caught my attention. “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up success for the upright; He is a shield for those who live with integrity so that he may guard the paths of justice and protect the way of his faithful followers” (CSB). The thoughts of these verses can be summed up in three observations. First, the source of wisdom is God. While ‘book learning” is helpful, all the book learning in the world doesn’t necessarily result in wisdom. We have all met people who had a lot of knowledge but didn’t have the “walking around sense” to close the door behind them. If we want to become wise, our search for wisdom starts with God. We need to pray that God would give us wisdom and discretion. Second, wisdom can be found in a godly lifestyle. A lot of people know a lot about the Bible, but they lack wisdom because their walk doesn’t match their talk. God’s word and God’s wisdom must migrate from our heads to our hearts. Verse 7 specifically tells us that God stores up wisdom for the upright, and He is a shield for those who walk after Him. Finally, a wise person understands that God is in charge. Romans 8:28 tells us God is working all things out for our good and His glory. While the day-to-day circumstances in each of our lives are different, for Christ followers who are striving to walk after God, the big picture shows God working out His will in each of our lives. So, wrapping all this up in a neat little bow, if we will study God’s word and learn about God’s ways, and God’s will, and then take what we have learned and live it out, God will give us the wisdom and discretion we need to successfully navigate the potholes of life. Anything else is folly.

Be blessed and then go be a blessing . . . Bro. Andy