Proverbs 2:2-5:

Make your ear attentive to wisdom, incline your heart to understanding. For if you cry for discernment, lift your voice for understanding. If you seek her as silver and search for her as hidden treasure; then you will discern the fear (reverence and awe) of The Lord and discover the knowledge of God.

We’ve already established some of this, but I want to add something that I believe The Lord showed me that changed my perspective on Proverbs and opened up a whole new layer for me! It still kind of blows my mind!

• wisdom is the “what”… this is also our salvation

• understanding is the “how”… this is also the Holy Spirit

• knowledge is the “why”… this is also God’s word, which is truth

These three things must always be accompanied by each other in our search for answers. When we seek with wisdom, which is our salvation through Jesus, we will find that His Spirit will open up an understanding of His word, which is His knowledge! His truth! You see, God does not lie. He only reveals truth. He only gives direction according to the truth and what is amazing is that His very knowledge is contained in the writings of a very beautiful story of one man who came to redeem, restore and rescue. The one man who’s name is above all names. The name that causes demons to shutter and mountains to move. The name that enables us to claim eternal life, light and love as our own… The name of Jesus!

The Old Testament and the New Testament mirror one another.

There are no mistakes and everything that is in them are purposeful and powerful.

One way to look at it is that the Old Testament is Jesus concealed and the New Testament is Jesus revealed.

When you are reading Proverbs, keep this in mind. This will help you apply this amazing book of promises to your every day life in practical and spiritual ways:

• wisdom = salvation,
• understanding = Holy Spirit
• knowledge = The word of God

Three things we need to navigate our way through life, Proverbs and everything else in this world…

1. The WISDOM of our SALVATION:

The wisdom Proverbs talks about is very practical. It is your “What would Jesus do” guide. For a believer, wisdom is our salvation and the principles we live by because of our decision to follow Christ. It is the flash of light that enters when you make that decision. It is the decision in your mind to obey and live a life of honoring God and others. I personally feel like there is a lot of obedience and “mind over matter” involved in choosing wisdom (salvation).

Have you ever been tempted to do something dishonest?

Have you dishonored someone else with your words or actions?

Have you ever been stubborn and unreasonable because you wanted to be right more than you wanted the situation to be made right?

Have you ever had the desire for revenge or to set the record straight?

Have you ever, or are you currently harboring unforgiveness?

Do you ever struggle with pride, sincerity or authenticity?

These are all things that every human being on the planet struggles with. There is no perfect person. This is why I believe that the choice to do what wisdom, our salvation in Christ, instructs us to do, hinges on our obedience to choose in our minds, the right response first.

As I have said before in my other blog about Samson…

Whatever we set our minds to, our hearts will follow! It all starts with settling in our minds that we will seek the wisdom of God, and not the wisdom of the world.

2. The UNDERSTANDING of the HOLY SPIRIT

The understanding Proverbs talks about is the very Holy Spirit that leads our hearts. It is that inner strength, that voice inside us that reassures us, warns us, guides us and gives us clarity beyond the surface. It’s our “gut” feeling. It is the discernment that God gives a believer. The ability to makes sense of the “facts” and see into a deeper level that goes beyond our minds.

• Have you ever been attacked in your mind? Knowing what your were hearing inside your your head was a lie?
• Have you ever felt that on the surface everything looked fine, but you have this “gut” feeling that something is not quite right?
• Have you ever come out of a situation feeling protected from something that could have ended badly?
• Have you ever felt uneasy about a place you’re in?

These are all the ways the Holy Spirit speaks to believers. When we seek understanding through the spirit of God, He will allow us to see and feel things that are beneath the surface. It’s like goggles that we need to see clearly under the water. The scripture says “seek understanding as silver; search for understanding as hidden treasure.” It is truly a hidden treasure that is available to all believers and it gives us amazing peace and clarity in situations and things of the heart. It is beyond what the mind can conceive.

Sometimes it makes no practical sense, but it will ALWAYS line up with the wisdom of our salvation and the knowledge/word/truth of God. It is direction. It is protection. It is peace. The kind of peace that comes from a place in the heart where only God can go, where only God speaks and only He can see. The more I study the word of God, (and I am no scholar), but I am convinced that the enemy can only speak to our minds. I believe that He is unable to speak to our hearts or see into our hearts. This is why it’s so important to settle in your mind to do what is right, seek God’s guidance through the Holy Spirit and apply the truth of God’s word in every situation.

3. The TRUTH of GOD’S WORD… His very KNOWLEDGE written for us in the Bible

It is what God says about anything! It is our compass, it is our defense, and it is our promise! When we know Him and His wisdom, we begin to understand, by His spirit, who He is, His love for us and His word becomes alive! It is the truth (His knowledge) we so desperately need to combat the wars that wage inside of us. Those with knowledge must have wisdom and understanding to know what to do with the facts they have collected and stored and to know what the facts mean and what steps to take next. If we have the knowledge of God inside of us, we can combat the laundry list of lies that the enemy throws at us on a daily basis!

THE TRUTH IS ALWAYS BETTER THAN A LIE!

When the Holy Spirit reveals who our covenant God really is, we will discover the word of God and it’s truth. His knowledge is unending. He knows no space or time. Everywhere we go, He has already been. He has already seen things that we do not have access to! The most amazing and greatest part of it is that it is all for our good. It is only in seeking with our hearts that we truly know our covenant God, who rescued us and planned our redemption before we were even created by Him! This is why we need His truth, His word, because what He says is true!

Proverbs 2:6:

For The Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

• Wisdom is a gift. Salvation is a gift. He gives it freely. Christ paid the price for our sin and gives us eternal life and all we have to do is receive it!

• Knowledge comes out of His mouth. The word came from His mouth and He created the universe. He was the word, He is the word and the word is with Him always. His word is truth. We need it for defense against the lies of the enemy!

• Understanding comes out of His mouth and is whispered into our hearts. The Holy Spirit is the one who speaks truth! The more we get to know Him, the more we will know His voice. The way I look at it is this… Knowledge is His word. The Spirit is His voice.

So summing up these three things:

Salvation – You have the gift of wisdom if you are a believer.

The Bible – The Bible is our guide to the truth or the facts. It will give you knowledge that is priceless.

The Spirit – The Holy Spirit will give you understanding (the ability to translate the meaning) of His word, situations, people, your life… The list goes on and on! It all hinges on the choice to receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, who died for our sin and sickness and rose again to give us eternal life!

Receive and choose to get to know who your rescuer really is! It’s like getting to know a true friend. One that you know so well, that when they call you, you know it’s them because you know their voice. The more you listen, the more familiar it becomes.