Find and Gain from Wisdom

We are pretty good at finding things when we are looking for them. Those things, when found, deliver some satisfaction, but generally that satisfaction is fleeting and minimal in lasting impact.

Notice the verbiage there in the above, looking for things. Thing are tangible what we get from them are fleeting as noted. But, intangible things we seem to seek as opposed to look for. Wisdom is one of those things that we should be seeking. We should have a deep desire to acquire wisdom for it is that which keeps on giving beyond the now.

“¹³Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,

and the one who gets understanding,

¹⁴for the gain from her is better than gain from silver

and her profit better than gold.”

— Proverbs 3:13-14 (ESV)

Silver and gold, or those tangible things do have a shelf life. They can be here today and gone tomorrow. We seem to look for those things that give pleasure in the now and then we tend to take for granted that which we acquired and squander it in the time that comes after. But wisdom, when found is something that continues to pay dividends throughout time. We may lose silver and gold, but we can always get more when using our wisdom.

Napoleon Hill’s book, “Think and Grow Rich” discusses the value of knowledge and wisdom. We gain lasting “wealth” from our knowledge and wisdom than the acquisition of things in the now. If we lose the things today, we can get more of them tomorrow by the use of our thoughts and reason.

“⁵At Gibeon the Lord appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I shall give you.” and “⁹Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people, that I may discern between good and evil, for who is able to govern this your great people?” – 1 Kings 3:5 & 9 (ESV)

Solomon understood the value of things and when presented by the LORD to the chance to ask for anything, he chose wisdom and understanding as he knew that would be the lasting thing to govern the people. And wisdom He received, and then he shared that wisdom through the writings we know today as Proverbs, where our focus verses this morning come from.

We are so intent on the acquisition of things in our lives that we miss the opportunity to find that which truly continues to give. We should be seeking the sustainable and gaining from its daily use and involvement in our lives. Wisdom found is there for lifelong gain.

What is it you seek? Are you looking for that thing to satisfy the now? What if you were seek, find, and gain from that which will give you lifelong gain, wisdom?

Find Your Delight

“⁴⁷for I find my delight in your commandments,

which I love.

⁴⁸I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,

and I will meditate on your statutes.”

— Psalm 119:47-48 (ESV)

“I find my delight in your commandments,” this is quite the verse and realization. But isn’t it true and with the LORD on a much larger scale.

My wife Lori is a teacher and I am in adult education and what we have found over the years is that people thrive in structure. They are keenly aware of expectations and can focus on producing results when they follow and meet and exceed those expectations. Having rules and guidelines to remove ambiguity and decision making for all of the little things allowing for energy to be expended on achieving results and not on meaningless tasks.

God gives us commandments and rules and expectations on our living life in this world. Some of those are grand, the Ten Commandments and the great commission, and others are less so, caring for the needy. But the one thing we can count on is that these commandments, rules, and expectations are in place for our guidance and direction as we traverse this world we live in as we prepare for our forever home, heaven.

As people in a classroom, we do not look at the structure and think, “wow these are great for me to not have to think about, I can just do”. But in this world, we can and should be looking at the commandments of the LORD as just that, “great for me”. We may not “delight” in the rules and expectations of this world, but we can and should find it in the commandments of the LORD. We should see His promise, His Word, His rules, His precepts, His commandments, and His statues as the structure that keeps us moving through this world as we prepare for our home.

I follow a very strict regimented disciplined daily routine that ensures I complete things on time and I am able to move on to the next with little thought. I am glad to have the commandments of the LORD to drive me forward in the things that matter as I move through this world. I find delight in knowing all my decisions can be made with Him in mind and that when doing so, I am headed in the right direction.

What is your feeling on commandments? Do you see them as restrictive and rigid? What if you saw them more as guidelines to keep you moving and were able to see and find delight in them?

You Will Again Find the LORD

Review my choice of words in the title above. Be aware that it is you that will find the LORD again, and not that He again finds you. If you read my previous study of the word “abandon” you will see that the LORD does not nor will not abandon us. He is there always waiting on us to turn back to Him. And when we do, He is right there ready to pick us up.

“³⁰When you are in tribulation, and all these things come upon you in the latter days, you will return to the Lord your God and obey his voice. ³¹For the Lord your God is a merciful God. He will not leave you or destroy you or forget the covenant with your fathers that he swore to them.” – Deuteronomy 4:30-31 (ESV)

The LORD will not leave or destroy us even though we turn away from Him. He gave us free will and He knew that we would act and do the way we act and do. He waits patiently for our return to Him. And, when we turn back to Him, He is there with open arms to receive us and love us and comfort us and protect us.

“²⁸And there you will serve gods of wood and stone, the work of human hands, that neither see, nor hear, nor eat, nor smell. ²⁹But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.” – Deuteronomy 4:28-29 (ESV)

We will distance ourselves from the LORD and will worship other gods. We will be servants of those gods and will allow them to bring us into despair. And just when things are at their worst. At our tribulation, we will realize the err in our way and we will seek the LORD and we will find Him there waiting for us. We will search for Him with fervor and with conviction.

I again come to the point of who does the searching, we. It is not the LORD searching to find us, as He never abandoned us. It is we who are doing the seeking. It is we who are again turning to the LORD. It is we who are again finding the LORD.

What are you worshiping? Are you hoping for rescue? What if you realize the err in your worship and turn again to seek and find the LORD, knowing that He never did nor never will abandon you?

Negotiate and Stick to It

I have moved to study the word “find” throughout God’s Word. I begin my study in the Book of Numbers with the negotiations of people of Reuben and Gad to stay and not cross over the Jordan River into the promised land. Seems a bit strange to not want to accept that which God had promised, but the reason made sense to the people.

The people of Reuben and Gad are not too different from you and me. They found something that was of benefit to them and that is where they found they wanted to be. When I find something that is of benefit to me, I am inclined to want that as well and am content in that finding. I will enter into negotiations to get/receive that which I found and in those negotiations will give up the prospect of something else to have what I have found. The people of Reuben and Gad did the same with Moses and with the promise of God, they negotiated to stay where they were and not accept the promised land of God.

“²⁰So Moses said to them, ‘If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, ²¹and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him ²²and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.’” “’²⁴Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.’ ²⁵And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, ‘Your servants will do as my lord commands. ²⁶Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, ²⁷but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the Lord to battle, as my lord orders.’”– Numbers 32:20-22 & 24-27 (ESV)

In the negotiations, everyone agreed that the people of Reuben and Gad would settle where they were and not in the promised land, in exchange for sending their armed men to fight for, alongside the other tribes in the acquisition of the promised land. Quite the negotiation to say the least. Fight for something that I have no stake in.

“²³But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.” – Numbers 32:23 (ESV)

And there it is, the other side of the negotiations. What happens if you do not uphold your end of the bargain. There are consequences. Where there are consequences to all negotiated terms that are not met, this negotiation is in the site of the LORD and you can bet they will be quite something. Although Moses does not outline what they are, the people had seen the anger of the LORD before, so I am sure that they were well aware of what those consequences were.

“¹At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, ²and said to them, ‘You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. ³You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. ⁴And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.’” – Joshua 22:1-4 (ESV)

Yep, they upheld their end of the bargain and the negotiated terms were kept by all involved. The promised land was secured and the people of Reuben and Gad settled in the negotiated land.

This is but one example of negotiating and consequences of the negotiation. Here the people of Reuben and Gad avoided the consequences as the LORD and they held up their ends of the negotiation. The same is for you and me. When we negotiate, we are to do so in good faith with full intent on following through with our end of the negotiation. Regardless of who we negotiate with, it is our duty to uphold our end. Remember that the LORD will allow our negotiations. He did so with Moses and here we see with the people of Reuben and Gad. The LORD will always uphold His end, it is up to us to stick to ours.

What do your negotiations look like? Are you making promised that you may or may not intend to keep? What if you were to negotiate in good faith and stick to it as we know the LORD will stick to His?