Incline Your Ear
God longs for His Word to be actively at work in our lives. The Bible is a living and powerful book. It is packed with both the truth and the power of God that are to be released into our lives–all through the power of God's Spirit. It is a seed to be planted in the heart with the potential to bear much fruit.
However, before God's Word can accomplish these results, it has to be received and it has to be obeyed.
But He answered and said, “It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God' “ (Matthew 4:4, NKJV).
The wise study and memorize God's Word so that its truth will be readily available to help throughout life. If we are wise, we will heed the Word–apply it to our lives and obey it. Proverbs 1:7 (NKJV) reads, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.” After the fear of the Lord, this is the key to skillful, successful living.
“Incline your ear and hear the words of the wise, And apply your heart to my knowledge; For it is a pleasant thing if you keep them within you; Let them all be fixed upon your lips, So that your trust may be in the Lord; I have instructed you today, even you. Have I not written to you excellent things Of counsels and knowledge, That I may make you know the certainty of the words of truth, That you may answer words of truth To those who send to you?” (Proverbs 22:17-21, NKJV)
There is a powerful message to grasp in this passage: God can be trusted. He can be trusted to reveal His truth–His wisdom–to us. God wants us to know His wisdom. He wants us to be happy, to live successfully, and to make good decisions. But we always need to remember that true, lasting happiness and success are the result of obeying God's Holy Word.
“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope” (Romans 15:4, NKJV).
His truth–His wisdom is spelled out for us in Scripture. God has acted supernaturally throughout the process of revealing His truth; therefore, we can have complete confidence in the credibility of Scripture–every word of it. We can share God's Word with confidence because it is reliable in answering people's questions about the human soul, in solving their problems, and in leading them to eternal life. It is the standard by which every idea–every claim of wisdom–must be tested.
“The Lord God has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear To hear as the learned (Isaiah 50:4, NKJV).
Godly wisdom cannot be separated from understanding. It is focused on understanding how to behave in life. One cannot be “wise” and refuse to understand how to behave as he/she lives life, nor can one understand how to behave as he/she lives life and refuse to be “wise”. To say the least, the two are inseparable companions. To pursue wisdom is to to pursue understanding of how to live, and to pursue an understanding of how to live is to pursue wisdom.
“If you need wisdom–if you want to know what God wants you to do–ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking (James 1:5, NLT).
Michael Cochran
PublisherFaithWriters.com
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