PURSUIT of wisdom. 31 Day Challenge

On the 1st of the year, my pastor challenged our church to a 31 day pursuit of wisdom. This 31 Day Challenge is as simple as reading one chapter of Proverbs each day throughout the month of January (31 days, 31 chapters). We also have our own blog page ( 31 Day Challenge ) so we as the Church (all of us, even those not at Crosspoint) can share and grow together in this pursuit.

If you'd like to do the challenge, please join! You can share your thoughts on the blog page and, if you have twitter, tweet about it with the hash tag #cp31days . We're all in this together, and I know I'd love to hear what everyone's thoughts are!

I hopped in on this challenge a few days late, so I'm going to briefly blog about the first 3 chapters. My hope is to every day blog about each chapter as well as share on the community page. I'm looking forward to the growth that is imminent.

---

Proverbs 1-3

For some reason, I've always viewed the "wise" as an older, sophisticated man who reads books, drinks tea, and speaks in a way that makes you scratch your head. This might be due to my love of C.S. Lewis and the countless images of him sitting in a pub I have of him in my head, but nonetheless the "wise" has never been an ordinary person. I think that's the start of the problem. Solomon writes in Proverbs to all of Israel, not just the prophets, those with an education, or the old and bearded men.

So, where do we even begin?

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,
but fools despise wisdom and discipline. (1.7)

Seems easy enough, right? But fearing the Lord is probably one of the hardest concepts to grasp. We all would be wise if we truly feared Him, revered Him, stood in awe of Him. In chapter 2, Solomon explains how to understand the fear of the Lord:

My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding,
and if you call out for insight
and cry aloud for understanding,
and if you look for it as for silver
and search for it as for hidden treasure,
then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God. (2:1-5)

If you accept His words, store His commands, turn your ear to wisdom, apply your heart to understanding, call for insight, cry aloud for understanding, and search as if its silver or a hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord. When was the last time you did all that? No wonder we are running short on wisdom! No one said it was easy, but we do know that it is worth it.

Chapter 3 hits home for me, as it contains my "life verse" that my parents chose for me when I was young (3.5-6). Moreover, this chapter came alive to me through the summer when I caught a glimpse of what it means to truly trust in the Lord. It's easy to recite a verse, especially when its been in your life since you were little; but it is another thing enitrely when you are living it out.

Have you ever tried not leaning on your own understanding? It's a lot harder than you think. I don't know about you but I always have a plan B... and C and D and E. If things don't go according to plan, I have a back-up. Always. I love to lean on my own understanding. I understand that things don't always go according to plan, therefore I plan more, make sure I don't miss anything. But in my planning, I miss the one thing I'm supposed to encounter - dependence on God. When plans fail, and I turn even my back-up plans over to Him, my reliance and relationship with the One who's got it all under control grows. And that's the point, isn't it? Verse 7 goes on to say "Do not be wise in your own eyes..." When was the last time you said "I don't know" and felt good about it? Shouldn't that be daily? To truly acknowledge God in the day to day? I'm not sure what bothers me more: not acknowledging God's sovereignty in my life or being okay with my own wisdom. Both are disturbing; both require change.

So today, don't be wise in your own eyes. Let God guide you every step, making your paths straight.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;
fear the LORD and shun evil.
This will bring health to your body
and nourishment to your bones.
(3.3-7)