The Wise

 The proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of 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— Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain
guidance, to understand a proverb and a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and
instruction.
Proverbs 1:1-7 (ESV)
 
By definition, fools despise wisdom and instruction. This phrase is easy to read but hard
to apply. How often do I seek wisdom and instruction? Most of my time is spent
justifying what I do, explaining what I do, and making sure you know the reasoning for
what I do.
 
Perhaps I should stop this process and understand why I do what I do. There are both negative and positive aspects to this. The wise hear, increase, and get guidance. The fools do not.
 
For now, I have the choice as to how to live.
 

Acknowledgement and Obedience

 

Praise the Lord! Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens! Praise him for his mighty deeds; praise him according to his excellent greatness! Praise him with trumpet sound; praise him with lute and harp! Praise him with tambourine and dance; praise him with strings and pipe! Praise him with sounding cymbals; praise him with loud clashing cymbals! Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Psalm 150 (ESV)   The end of the Psalms summarizes about what life should be. All the created things were created to glorify God and only find fulfillment in doing so.   All creation has a voice of sorts. The rocks and trees point to God in their way, whereas mankind gets to point to God through trusting Him. Talk is not trust, even though it may proceed trust, and just knowing doctrine, memorizing verses, or being "religious" does nothing to praise God.   God is praised by the acknowledgment and obedience of His children. Today, I have the choice as to how I live and to whom it points, but this choice is given for a limited time.

Those who know God rejoice in Him.

 

For the LORD delights in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let the faithful rejoice that he honors them. Let them sing for joy as they lie on their beds. Psalm 149:4-5   Think of the idea that God, the creator and sustainer of all life, delights in us, His people. However, He delights in His people, which excludes those who are not His people. Those who ignore God and His mercy, grace, and invitations are miserable in this life and have nothing which to look forward. Those who are God's people can enjoy every facet of creation as it plays out in our lives today and look forward to an eternity with a creative Heavenly Father.   Those who know God rejoice in Him, His faithfulness, and His creation.

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My Main Task

 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure. The Lord lifts up the humble; he casts the wicked to the ground. Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make melody to our God on the lyre! He covers the heavens with clouds; he prepares rain for the earth; he makes grass grow on the hills. He gives to the beasts their food, and to the young ravens that cry. His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.

Psalm 147:5-11 (ESV)
 
One can never say that God cannot or does not understand. He may be the only one who does understand. God is beyond our thoughts and ideas. He is in a category by Himself that cannot be shared with another. That is why He is called “Holy, Holy, Holy”.
 
My main task in life is to conform to Him, not to push Him to conform to me.
 

Satan seems to know this…

 The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works. The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them. The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord, and let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 145:17-21 (ESV)
 
The Lord is near to those who trust in Him. If I feel far from God, it is not God who moved; it is not God's problem, but my problem.
 
Every time I trust God, I win. When I begin to trust myself, circumstance, people, and more, I lose, for there is, by design, only one worth trusting in the entire universe—and that alone is God.
 
Satan seems to know this, and he keeps working us over in a way that would get us to trust anything (our health, family, logic, and more) rather than God. He packages his attacks in clever ways. We shouldn't fall for his wrappings.

Challenging the next generation.

 I will extol you, my God and King, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts. On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate. They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds, and I will declare your greatness. They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness and shall sing aloud of your righteousness. The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Psalm 145:1-9 (ESV)
 
The challenge is to live in a way that challenges the next generation to live in a way that would challenge the next generation to live in a way that glorifies God.
 
Living for the moment is short-sighted and destroys any future hope.

God is steadfast.

 Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle; he is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. O Lord, what is man that you regard him, or the son of man that you think of him? Man is like a breath; his days are like a passing shadow.

Psalm 144:1-4 (ESV)
 
Our lives are like a breath. They are vital for the moment, then totally gone the next, and before you know it, without a trace.
 
Those who live with this reality in mind realize that they are going to be dead a whole lot longer than they are alive, and they make decisions based on this stark reality. Those who decide solely to satisfy their momentary pleasures are gravely disappointed.
 
God is steadfast. He is a fortress, a stronghold. We are not. I would be a sagacious man to align my thoughts, ways, and purposes with His. He alone can and will bring meaning and stability to life.