The Proverbs :: A Guidebook for MenSample

The Proverbs offer us both practical and profound wisdom. Too often, we settle on the surface, reading these words as poetic couplets and not like the powerful, soul-strengthening, heart-enriching words of God crafted for you and me to become more like Him.

I know that language might make some of us uncomfortable. It’s easier to see the Proverbs like a business manual or a well-written instruction book with helpful anecdotes and good-sounding advice. But they are more profound than that. And that level of depth is calling out to you and me today.

Here’s a question I want you to answer honestly: when was the last time you went deep?

This chapter tells us that “the spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, searching all his innermost parts.”

The word for Spirit in Hebrew means “breath.” It’s the same word used in Genesis 2 when “then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”

So the Proverbs writer says that when we breathe—something we do without thinking—the LORD is using our very breath like a lamp to search our innermost parts!

We are not meant to be surface dwellers. We are designed and intended for the deep, rich, and weighty things of God.

We see this earlier in chapter 20, where we read: “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”

You have a purpose. It’s not a conditional phrase, as if some men have purpose and others don’t. No, the text says, “the purpose in a man’s heart…” That means there’s purpose in you. In me. But did you see what that purpose is compared to? Deep water.

So, how do you go deep? How do you find the diving board of your own heart and get below the surface? You start by stopping. You embrace some silence, you get low, and you look up.

None of those four things are natural or pragmatic, according to the world. You will have to put up a fight if you want to go deep, but the reward for a man of faith is vast and eternal. As the writer says,

“Many a man proclaims his own steadfast love, but a faithful man who can find?”

If you make the space, you’ll come to find that there’s more to explore with God.

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God, You have created me on purpose and with purpose. You know me deeply, so please allow my heart to know You in the same manner. Take me deeper and grow my faith.