As I stated last week, I am reading through the Book of Proverbs. There is just SO MUCH in there!! Last week I spoke of watching our tongues. How did you do? I think I made some strides!

This week the part that is really speaking to me is seeking wisdom. The word “wisdom” is used no less than 50 times (depending on which translation you are using) so I think it is safe to say that wisdom is a major theme of Proverbs.

What has become clear to me is that I have to take the initiative to seek after wisdom. Others can try to impart it, but if we aren’t open to receiving it, nothing is gained. So, how do we take this initiative? 1 Samuel 30:6 tells us how David did it, “David strengthened himself in the Lord his God”. David knew where to look for wisdom after his army was talking of stoning him because their families had been taken captive by the Amalekites. He was greatly distressed and sought his God. He didn’t try to solve the problem on his own, but he took it to the Lord.

Self-leadership is crucial for those called to leadership (and we are all in leadership somewhere, somehow!). We have to learn to take the time to seek the Lord and His will for our lives. This is wisdom! This is what Solomon was searching after. Unfortunately, when we get busy and things are looking tense, it is a very human habit to start losing focus and let the worry take over. These are the times when it is even more important to MAKE the time to focus not on our problems, but on our relationship with God. In doing this we are only following Jesus’ ministry model. He often times had bursts of ministry activity followed by times of prayer, solitude, fasting and refreshing. Not exactly the American way, is it? We tend to go, go, go until we are teetering on insanity! Let’s follow the way Jesus showed us and strengthen ourselves in Him. Then, we will find wisdom.

Will you join me this week in taking time to strengthen ourselves in the Lord our God?

More to come…
Jeremy