Key Takeaway
Becoming a wise person is completely in your control. No one can hold you back from it. God has made it clear and accessible through His word, specifically in Proverbs, which is entirely devoted to wisdom and has a chapter for everyday.
We are uniquely woven together by God. The life He gives us is a gift. The great God who architects you in the womb is the same great God who has blueprints for our lives. It's His life on loan to us, with free will, and an opportunity to grow into the kind of oak that the generations would find shelter under.
The enemy wants not only to break you down in tangible ways but also simply to help you waste your life.
It's time to lean in with Christ. What does it look like to build our house in such a way that when the rain comes, your house will still be standing?
Proverbs 24:34 says that through wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established, through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures. What's beautiful about the book of Proverbs is that it's not complicated, it's readable and applicable.
The house is a metaphor for our lives. It's through wisdom that we are built. It's through understanding that we are established. Through knowledge, our rooms are filled with beautiful treasures.
Let's build our lives by making the wisest choice available. Yes, we live in a world void of wisdom. So we come to Jesus and the pages of the Holy Scriptures because they are wise. The entire book of Proverbs is wisdom. Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are what is at play.
Who controls our thoughts, relationships, habits and patterns, time, and money? Would you be willing to let those things be controlled by the wisdom of God?
God's promises pave the way for a new you. 2 Peter 1:3-8 says that already in our relationships with God when we were born spiritually, we were given everything we need at that moment for life and godliness. It's not a process of addition, it's a process of maturing and development. We grow into the fullness of who God wants us to be. In God, now, we make every effort to become that person. All of these things are added together to build us as we grow: faith, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Possessing these in increasing measure keeps us from being unproductive in the knowledge of our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Knowledge is wanting to become wise. We need to raise our Scriptural literacy. Here's how-
Read it. Open your Bible and just read it. You don't have to break down the Hebrew and Greek. Just read it.
Study it. Studying is "making every effort."
Meditate on it. Focus on what it is saying to you over a prolonged period of time.
Memorize it. You memorize songs and other sayings, your brain is capable of memorizing scripture.
Live it. Do what it says and apply it to your life.
That's how His promises pave the way for a new you.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9 is the Shema, which is the sum total of all Jewish teaching. "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." God is saying as you start your day, put His Word in your head and on your hands so that as you think and as you do, you are saturated in the Word of God, In everything you do, think, say, and meditate on, let it be the Word of God.
Wisdom is one thing that is totally within your control. You can start to become wise today and nobody can stop you. Proverbs has 31 chapters in it. There is one for each day of the month. Just read it. It's simple. Ask God to let one verse sift to the top. Write that verse down. Read it and meditate on it throughout the day. Figuratively put it on your head and hands. Text the verse to a friend who is reading along with you. Tell them why it is rising to the top for you. At the end of the month, you'll have 31 verses written down. Ask God which one He wants to be the banner over the life He has given to you and what he has called you to. This gives you a lens to view the decisions that you make. When you lean into the Word, the Word leans into you.
Discussion Questions
1. Do you believe that the God who uniquely created you in the womb has unique blueprints for your life?
2. Read Proverbs 24:34. What are the three major components? Explain the metaphor between the house and our lives.
3. Why is Proverbs a perfect book to obtain wisdom from?
4. The supporting framework of our lives is our thoughts, relationships, habits and patterns, time, and money. Who is controlling that in your life?
5. What promises are found in 2 Peter 1:3-8? What were we given at the moment of our spiritual birth?
6. What is the difference between a process of addition and the process of maturing and developing?
7. Louie mentioned five ways to engage with the Scripture to become wise. What are they and how can you incorporate them into your life?
8. Read Deuteronomy 6:4-9. What is the main point of this passage? Do you follow these examples every day?
9. Who can hold you back from becoming a wise person? What excuses are you holding onto so that you can keep from engaging in God's Word?
10. Would you be willing to read a chapter in Proverbs every day, allow a verse to rise to the top, write it down, and then share it with a friend?
