Learning God's Way

A reason we want to hear from God is to know how to live. We face decisions daily. Sometimes they’re small, “What will I wear?” Some have more weight, “How should I spend money?” And there are big ones, “Should I marry this person?”, “Change jobs?", “Move?”

God may not care about which t-shirt we choose, but he cares about us! And when something is important to us, or stresses us out, or makes us feel paralyzed by the weight of choosing the wrong thing, God isn’t far off, but with us in every decision we face.

God’s presence is the heartbeat of the Bible's “Wisdom Literature.” These books are filled with principles—fundamental truths about how life should work. Proverbs is one of these books and basically says that if you do the right things, good things will follow. But if you do the wrong things, bad things will follow. In reality, we understand that life doesn’t always go this way, but Proverbs suggests there’s a positive association between following wisdom and your life.

The optimism of Proverbs, the source of its principles, and the first step it offers for learning God's wisdom is “the fear of the Lord.” Proverbs says, “the fear of the Lord” leads to knowledge (9:10), adds length to one’s life (10:27, 14:27), is better than wealth (15:16), helps us avoid evil (16:6), and leads to safety (29:25).

It begins with recognizing and standing in awe of how big God is. He’s the creator of everything. He’s all-powerful, all-knowing, and everywhere. He’s the perfect judge who administers justice, defends the vulnerable, and holds people accountable. So, in a way, the “fear of the Lord” is awareness that God is bigger and more powerful than we can imagine. And Proverbs suggests this big and powerful God is for us (1:22-23)! He’s intimately involved in our lives and offers the wisdom we need. This revelation leads to humility (22:4) when we realize God knows what’s best and we can trust him because he’s bigger, older, and wiser than we are.

If you want to learn God’s ways and know what he has for you today, spend time dwelling on his bigness, power, and unlimited perspective. And then pray for insight and seek wisdom like you’re searching for buried treasure (2:3-4). What you’ll find is that God is near, is listening, and offers to do life with you.

Take a minute to pray:

All-knowing and all-powerful God, you are bigger than my biggest struggles and have the perspective to see more than I ever could. Lead me to a healthy fear of you. Help me stand in awe of your beauty and be humbled by your glory and power. Guide me through the wisdom of your Spirit and these principles found in the Bible. And please help me learn your ways and follow you to the good life you have for me, even when that good life doesn’t look like what I expect. Amen.