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Daily delight

"Then I [Wisdom] was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always...
Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors." (Proverbs 8:30, 34 ESV)

Wisdom (hokmah = wisdom, good sense, skill, insight) is using what God has revealed in order to live skillfully. It is more than just following the commandments of God, it is how to apply God's revelation (both in the word and in nature) to the intricacies of daily living.

Wisdom is how to navigate life's difficulties, avoiding pitfalls, solving problems, dealing with paradoxes, and concluding with a well-lived life, all through a God-given skill.

It is more than content, it is an art, which calls for self-discipline and practice.

How then do we "listen, watch, wait" for wisdom?

  • Observe nature -- this is one way God reveals truth to us... Jonathan Edwards wrote, “I believe that the whole universe, heaven and earth, air and seas, and the divine constitution and history of the holy Scriptures, be full of images of divine things, as full as a language is of words” (Types, 152).
  • Observe human relationships around you -- how they work and don't work; how people talk and how they respond. Think about the actions people around you take and the consequences they experience.
  • Observe Scripture above all -- study, wait, spend time daily, develop convictions. This is more than a quickie "devo", but finding truths to chew on all day. (See James 1:23, 24)

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