Day 123, Year 1

Wisdom Finds Knowledge and Discretion

“I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.” (Proverbs 8:12 NASB)

If believers want to contain and deeply understand God’s wisdom, we often need to memorize His words first. Usually, as we memorize useful words of wisdom, we would gradually receive more and more of His wisdom. In this process, we need to be sensitive to His words and seek understanding. The more diligently we meditate on the Scripture, the more sensitive we will be toward the spiritual world. In the process of this understanding, we should pay special attention to the subtle and wonderful aspects of His wisdom. We could then cultivate a meticulous attitude while reading the Bible to seek His wisdom. Indeed, important details determine the overall situation, this is often the case with faith as well. Thus, we who seek God’s wisdom will gradually learn to pay attention to predominant details. The world is full of details, and the wise would only process and respond quickly to crucial ones. The prudence or flexibility this verse mentions refers to how wisdom enables us to react swiftly to certain matters. 

It was mentioned yesterday that one of the meanings of “prudence” is “craftiness,” which means knowing how to use practical tactics. This is closely related to the second half of the verse, where wisdom finds knowledge and discretion. In my opinion, the whole verse means that wisdom guides us to find suitable information and tactics. Divine wisdom provides us with clear direction, thus enabling us to obtain relevant knowledge and guidance to act wisely. Therefore, the wisdom, knowledge, and discretion that the verse encourages us to pursue are aligned with the truth and have a practical orientation and value. We would then disdain fanciful theories if we seek biblical wisdom.

When we decide to pursue God’s wisdom, we will discard the foolish, useless, or harmful things, and our direction in life will be set right. Hence, when we seek wisdom and beneficial understanding, we would naturally be drawn to the relevant knowledge and methods. By this, we would naturally embark on a path of constantly discerning useful knowledge and becoming increasingly successful. Our preferences would also be changed accordingly. This change would make our decisions generally more correct, and even our character more righteous, upright, and wise.

Reflection questions:

1) Recently, do you think you are becoming more and more sensitive to the spiritual world and the things in it? If not, what ways could you adopt to improve with the help of the Lord?

2) Do you feel that God’s wisdom is changing the direction and purpose of your life? If so, what is changing now?