Probing Proverbs: 3:17-18 She will guide you down
delightful paths; all her ways are satisfying. Wisdom is a tree of life to
those who embrace her; happy are those who hold her tightly.
To help us connect with His concept of Wisdom, God leads the
writer to speak about wisdom as a person. God is very good at taking spiritual
issues and making them tangible…something we can get our minds around. So
committed to this is He, that He took on flesh to reach us. That is one of the
aspects of the incarnation. So here we have Wisdom in a feminine form, notice
her description:
She guides to delightful
paths, she is satisfying, and she brings life.
Throughout our time in Proverbs we have seen how wisdom changes
an individual’s life for the better, wisdom brings quality, purpose and a
sense of destiny. The promises of wisdom are very attractive! A very important
truth is communicated here; life when approached with thought and understanding
does not disappoint. So many of the bad moments in life, if we are honest, were
from decisions short on thought. We rushed into them; wisdom requires enough
time to count the cost. Even if the decision must be made in a moment, if we
have thought about important issues of life, we will have the wisdom to make
that decision with no regret. Martyrs have laid down their life in a second,
but that came after a time of meditation on what’s really important in life.
So from this Proverb let us consider what our response should
be. Two words are used that clearly bring images of what our response should look
like.
We are told that wisdom brings life to those that “embrace”
her. Here is the basic meaning of “Embrace” - to take or receive gladly or eagerly;
accept willingly. There is a strong emphasis on attitude in the word. This is
not something that a person is doing under duress or begrudgingly.
I began following Jesus Christ at 20 and am still pursuing Him
at 60…I
can tell you the difference in my life when I have embraced the Truth He
brought to me, versus the times I was obedient and yielded, yet with resentment
or doing it only because I knew it was what He wanted me to do. Have no doubt,
it is better to obey than sacrifice, however, when I embrace the wisdom He
offered, not only was I obedient, I found joy, contentment, peace, purpose…I
could go on. The point is a quality to my life was added as I experienced
bringing joy to my Lord’s heart and discovering how “wise” His wisdom is! Embracing exposes a holy hunger
to be close to God!
We are also told an individual that holds wisdom tightly will
be happy! The basic meaning of “Tightly” is - firmly or closely fixed in place;
not easily moved; secure.
Joy is an abiding contentment no matter the circumstances;
happiness is an emotion, which reacts to circumstance. The picture here is clear.
When we tightly hold on to wisdom, it brings an anchor to our emotions! We are
not “easily”
moved to panic, we have a sense of security no matter the circumstances. What a
gift this is! Even though the world may be crashing around you, wisdom states
that “God
is Sovereign,” “God is in control,” and He will work “all things…even
this”
together for good!
You may be emotionally troubled and concerned, yet you do
not fall all the way into anxiety or depression! Wisdom as an anchor will keep
your highs from being too high, and your lows from being too low. Wisdom brings a
“regulator” to
our emotions. This is why wisdom must be embraced and held tightly – it
is a way of life – so when life does happen, we have prepared ourselves
beforehand!
The so what? Do you live proactively
or reactively? How intense are you in your desire to live in Truth? Have you
decided to Embrace God? Are you taking the Data you know about God and applying
it?
