O God, let us keep your Word in mind, and meditate on it day and night, standing firm, watching and praying. Give us real knowledge of what we read. Show us not only how to understand it, but how to live it, so we might live in Spirit and in truth. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[1]
Trusting in the Lord
Proverbs 3:5-12 NASB
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean 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 turn away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your bones.
Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so, your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine.
My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord or loathe His reproof, for whom the Lord loves He reproves, even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.
MARKS OF A WISE PERSON AND MEANS FOR GROWING IN WISDOM[2]
- Trust in the Lord
Identify your idols. You can believe in God yet still trust something else for your real significance and happiness – which is therefore your real God. Idolatries of the heart lead to foolishness in the life. The ultimate remedy for idolatry is the gospel. - Submit to God in all your ways
The Bible can guide you in all your ways, even when there is not a specific verse for every life situation. As you immerse yourself in the Bible’s story of a personal God who made us and saved us for a relationship with Him, it makes every part of life look different than if you didn’t believe the story. Wisdom grows as you live daily life shaped by the biblical narrative and divine realities. - Be willing to take advice
Wisdom is to see things through as many other eyes as possible, through the Word of God and through the eyes of your friends, of people from other races, classes, and political viewpoints, and of your critics. Wise men and women create a company of counselors around them. - Be generous
Inordinate love of money and confidence in its power blind us, and the best way to break money’s power over us is through giving lots of it away. - Learn from adversity and trouble
The mark of wisdom is to be ready for suffering. Suffering is a discipline for growth in wisdom. Accept your troubles as means for spiritual growth and part of the plan of our loving heavenly Father.
The New City Catechism Question #42
How is the Word of God to be read and heard?
With diligence, preparation, and prayer; so that we may accept it with faith, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.[3]
The Heidelberg Catechism Question #125
What is the fourth petition (of the Lord’s Prayer)?
Give us this day our daily bread. That is: be pleased to provide for all our bodily need, that we may thereby acknowledge Thee to be the only fountain of all good, and that without Thy blessing neither our care and labor nor Thy gifts can profit us; and, therefore, that we may withdraw our trust from all creatures and place it alone in Thee.[4]
Lord,inspire us to read your Scriptures and to meditate upon them day and night. We beg you to give us real understanding of what we need, that we in turn may put its precepts into practice. Yet we know that understanding and good intentions are worthless, unless rooted in your graceful love. So, we ask that the words of Scriptures may also be not just signs on a page, but channels of grace into our hearts. Amen.[5]
Leaning On the Everlasting Arms
Lord, You have given us Your Word for a light to shine upon our path; grant us so to meditate on that Word, and to follow its teaching, that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.[6]
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Corinthians 4.15).
[1] A Prayer of Origen (185-254), Every Moment Holy Volume 3, p. 427.
[2] Timothy and Kathy Keller, “God’s Wisdom for Navigating Life.” Viking / Penguin Random House, 2017, pp. 22-26.
[3] The New City Catechism Devotional, The Gospel Coalition and Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2017, p. 183.
[4] G. I. Williamson, “The Heidelberg Catechism.” Puritan and Reformed Publishing, 1993, p. 224.
[5] A prayer of Origen (185-254), Every Moment Holy Volume 3, p. 428.
[6] A prayer of Jerome (342-420), Every Moment Holy Volume 3, p. 428.
