Day 58, Year 1 Seeking Wisdom with Humility

“Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:7 NASB)

“The rich man is wise in his own eyes, But the poor who has understanding see through him.” (Proverbs 28:11 NASB)

To seek God’s wisdom, first, we have to let go of the idea that we already have sufficient wisdom. Those who consider themselves wise are often those who rely on themselves, and they might consider themselves knowledgeable. This is somewhat similar to the rich men who consider themselves wise. Rich people typically rely on their wealth and are easily caught in the delusion that “all is well if one has plenty of money.” It’s because money could often actualize many wishes. Those who rely on wealth might be simple-minded; thus, the poor men with understanding could see through them. Anyway, those who consider themselves wise or rely on their wealth always lack humility in seeking God’s wisdom.

God “stores up sound wisdom for the upright” (Proverbs 2:7a NASB). Is this wisdom bestowed in the cloud? Of course not. Wisdom needs to be sought and found out by people. Indeed, God stores up effective wisdom for the upright. This is part of His promise. However, the human part begins by fearing God, earnestly seeking His wisdom, and hating evil. The wisdom in the Bible is divine and practical. God’s wisdom is often bestowed through the spiritual realm. Therefore, today’s verse goes: Fear the Lord and turn away from evil. True wisdom not only comes from the accumulation of experience but also from fearing God. This fear must involve recognizing what He deems as evil, subsequently causes us to hate evil, and leads us to turn away from it. Understanding God’s judgments could broaden our perspective and increase our knowledge.

Developing the fear of God that leads to turning away from evil is not easy, and it might even be a long process for us in reality. Going from not knowing God to knowing Him is a process;progressing from knowing God to fearing God is still another process. We need to discern good from evil through His guidance, which requires a lot of thinking. Turning away from evil needs hating it and our willpower, effort, persistence, and perseverance. This process might also require us to change our bad habits to good ones. The road of the faith is long, and we could not be hasty or be sloth, but be constantly growing and changing.

Reflection questions:

1) Are you willing to seek God’s judgments from time to time to broaden your perspective and horizon? If yes, what kind of thinking would you need to adjust?

2) Where do you think you are in the process of knowing God, fearing God, discerning good and evil, hating evil, or turning away from evil? Do you have the perseverance to make progress in Him?