Today’s Scripture:
Proverbs 1:20-33
Wisdom shouts in the street;
in the public square she raises her voice.
Above the noisy crowd, she calls out.
At the entrances of the city gates, she has her say:
“How long will you clueless people love your naïveté,
mockers hold their mocking dear,
and fools hate knowledge?
You should respond when I correct you.
Look, I’ll pour out my spirit on you.
I’ll reveal my words to you.
I invited you, but you rejected me;
I stretched out my hand to you,
but you paid no attention.
You ignored all my advice,
and you didn’t want me to correct you.
So I’ll laugh at your disaster;
I’ll make fun of you when dread comes over you,
when terror hits you like a hurricane,
and your disaster comes in like a tornado,
when distress and oppression overcome you.
Then they will call me, but I won’t answer;
they will seek me, but won’t find me
because they hated knowledge
and didn’t choose the fear of the Lord.
They didn’t want my advice;
they rejected all my corrections.
They will eat from the fruit of their way,
and they’ll be full of their own schemes.
The immature will die because they turn away;
smugness will destroy fools.
Those who obey me will dwell securely,
untroubled by the dread of harm.”
Re-read the above passage, more slowly this time, and then ponder the following questions as you go about your day today:
Where do you go to find wisdom? What wisdom have you ignored or rejected — and then later recognized? Do you remember a time in your life when you needed wisdom and received it in an unusual way? Was there a time when God brought wisdom into your life when you needed it most — and least expected it?
Prayer for Today:
Gracious and loving God, Thank you for all they ways in which You bring wisdom into my life. Please help me be open to Your wisdom and advice — and to all the ways in which you offer help and guidance when I need it most. Help me listen for your guidance and always turn toward You when I feel as though I’ve lost my way. Amen.