Wisdom Wants to Be Found

If you remain foolish it's really your own fault. For one thing scripture makes clear in the book of Proverbs is not only the importance of wisdom but the readiness of wisdom to be found by any who search for it. 

Proverbs 8:1–5 (ESV) Does not wisdom call? Does not understanding raise her voice? 2 On the heights beside the way, at the crossroads she takes her stand; 3 beside the gates in front of the town, at the entrance of the portals she cries aloud: 4 “To you, O men, I call, and my cry is to the children of man. 5 O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense.

So far wisdom has been personified as a woman, but now wisdom is not just personified, it is presented as desperate to be found! Wisdom calls out to the streets and to the simple... and the invitation is simple: come and learn. 

Then the Proverbs unpacks the enormous benefits of wisdom:

Proverbs 8:14–17 (ESV) I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength. 15 By me kings reign, and rulers decree what is just; 16 by me princes rule, and nobles, all who govern justly. 17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.

Princes and rulers benefit from wisdom and those who love her will find her as they seek her. What a picture of promise. God will give you wisdom if you simply seek to have it. 

This passage breaks to pieces the myths many buy concerning wisdom. That only the really special people have it or that it is somehow elusive to the common man. NO. The Bible could not be clearer, God wants you to have it, He would that everyone would listen for it. And yes, right where you are, wisdom can be learned. You can rule as a prince or king in life if you will simple seek this blessed gift. 

Then there is the imprint of wisdom on the creation.

Proverbs 8:22–26 (ESV) “The LORD possessed me at the beginning of his work, the first of his acts of old. 23 Ages ago I was set up, at the first, before the beginning of the earth. 24 When there were no depths I was brought forth, when there were no springs abounding with water. 25 Before the mountains had been shaped, before the hills, I was brought forth, 26 before he had made the earth with its fields, or the first of the dust of the world.

I love this passage because it shows how the handiwork of God in creation lays out the wisdom of God naturally. Nature helps us see God's wisdom at work. There are seasons, there are processes that work, there are planets that do not collide and there are values to math and science. On top of this, there is beauty and grandeur and testimony to God's glory in all of creation. 

Wisdom does not just help you rule in life, it helps you connect to the created order in a way that's aligned with her patterns, behaviors and principles. God made the good creation in all its glory through wisdom and He can do the same for your life with wisdom as well. 

Thus the last invitation from wisdom:

Proverbs 8:34–36 (ESV) Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors. 35 For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from the LORD, 36 but he who fails to find me injures himself; all who hate me love death.”

You do not need to make the excuse that you cannot gain wisdom, it is waiting to be found so that you can be strong in life and centered in God's world. You need only seek it out and find it. The choice is yours.