For the LORD gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding. He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield for those who walk in integrity, guarding the paths of justice, and He preserves the way of His godly ones.   Proverbs 2:5-8 NASB

There is an old saying that it is better to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove it. This may come from Proverbs 17:28 which says even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. The book of Proverbs is full of instruction for how to be wise and how to avoid being foolish. But Proverbs chapter 2 tells us what we need to do to be wise. The most important thing we can do is listen to God.

Now, let’s just stop right here. First of all, there are some of you right now that are saying, “Well, I listen but I never hear anything from God.”  Well, there are several reasons why you never hear anything from God. First of all, you have to acknowledge that He is God. Psalm 46:10 says be still and know that I am God. Often times we are so busy planning and plotting what we will do to solve the problem that we don’t shut up long enough or be still long enough to hear what God is telling us. Isaiah 59:1-2 tells us that our sin creates a barrier between us and God so that He does not hear us, when we are lost in sin we are not listening to Him either. Isaiah 6:9 tells us that we will hear and not understand. If we are not in close relationship with God, we won’t understand what He is saying. I can remember being lost and trying to read the bible on my own. I found it confusing. It’s not confusing, but it’s part of a relationship with God. When we are in close relationship with God His word is clear.

So if you want to hear from God, you need to shut up, get close, be still and pay careful attention. Hebrews 2:1 tells us that we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. Psalm 32:8 tells us that He will instruct us in the way that we should go. In Isaiah 30:21 we are told that our ears shall hear a word behind us saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you to turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

Now I have lived as a complete moron and I have lived as a wise person. I am not wise on my own, but when I listen to God and follow His instructions I do well. When I strike out on my own, not so much. You see, God gives us free will. Even though He knows that we are going to mess things up on our own. We need God. We need His instruction and His direction in our lives.

We need to be obedient so that our sin does not separate us from Him. We need to hear from Him and trust in Him and obey Him. Think back to when you were a child and your parent read you a bedtime story or it was story time in your kindergarten class. Think about how you listened attentively. Think about reading your favorite kind of book now. You know the kind that you get so wrapped up in, you just can’t put it down. Or perhaps for you it’s a video game or social media or your favorite television show. We need to listen to God like that. We need to get into His word. We need to draw near to Him and pay close attention so that we don’t miss any of His instructions. We need to be still and quiet so that we can hear what He has to say to us. We need to study His word as this is how he speaks to us.

If you want to be wise, follow God’s instructions. Trust in Him to lead and guide you. Do what He says for you to do. Trust in Him and obey Him. Ask Him to remove any sin that may stand as a barrier between you and Him. God has good things planned for you (Jeremiah 29:11) but you must listen to Him and trust in Him and go in the way He leads you. Then He will give you wisdom and discernment.

Our scripture passage today tells us that if we are upright, meaning we obey His commands, and walk with integrity that He will shield us. We are also told that He preserves the way of the godly. He will take good care of us when we choose to walk with Him and gain wisdom through Him. We will gain wisdom, discernment, and God’s protection. Trust me, that’s a sweet deal!

Have a great day!