WHERE TO LOOK FOR GOD'S WISDOM
Proverbs 20:5 and 27 NKJV
5 Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water,
But a man of understanding will draw it out.
27 The spirit of a man is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the inner depths of his heart.
I realize that we are reading from Proverbs, which is the book of wisdom. I am amazed at the practical wisdom found in this book. This is the book that I highly recommend for those in the business sector. One chapter a day for the month. In this book, you find warnings and insight into people and their behavior. In chapter 20, we find that those who spread rumors and gossip and those who flatter are linked together and are to be avoided.
In our verses for today, we see another place to look for God's wisdom. His wisdom is not limited to the pages of the Bible, but He also speaks to us today. Very rarely does God speak with audible voices or dramatic signs. But He does speak. Verse five tells us that counsel is in our heart. And that godly counsel is like deep water; it's not on the surface. When we couple this verse with verse 27, we get further insight. The spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord.
The words heart and spirit can often refer to the same thing. They can indicate our spiritual man or inner man. Peter called our spirits the hidden man of the heart. Paul spoke of our spirit, soul, and body. The spirit being the inner man connected to the soul, which includes the mind and emotional realm. And the easiest part of us to identify is the body, the outer man.
We know that our bodies are aging, but our inner man does not age. One day, we will leave our bodies behind, and our spirits and souls will be present with the Lord in heaven. This is why we look at a body in a casket and state that's not our loved one. We know our loved one has departed, and the body is the shell.
So, it is our spirit that contacts God. Our spirit is where He speaks to us. We often say that God spoke to our heart, and that would not be wrong. Therefore, if we are looking for a voice or something loud and obvious, we are looking in the wrong place. If we are looking for a feeling, we are looking in the wrong place. If we are looking in our heads again, we are going to be disappointed. God speaks to our heart. A friend of mine once talked about the whispers of the heart, and that is an accurate term. Paul said that the Holy Spirit witnesses to our spirit. The inner witness is a sense, a perception, not a voice. We get a sense of what the Lord is saying. The challenge is that we are not used to tuning into our heart.
Why do so many ideas and insights come to people in the shower or doing some mindless activity? Because often, that is when they get quiet enough to hear what their heart is saying. Quiet enough to tune into the counsel in the heart. Thankfully, we don't have to spend hours in the shower to hear what God is saying to us. We can learn to get quiet and still. Is this a challenge in our very busy, noisy world? Absolutely! But we can do this. Take some time and slow down during the upcoming Holiday season to reflect on God's Word and what He has done for you. Talk to the Lord and give Him a chance to speak to your heart. If we draw near to Him, He will draw near to us.
PRAYER
Lord, I desire to hear Your counsel and pick up what you are witnessing to my heart. Help me learn to pay attention to my heart.