I’ve been reading Proverbs for what seems like forever, and throughout it, “wisdom” keeps popping up: its importance and value, our need for it, the danger of deserting it, habits of wise people, and what it says.” Proverbs is classified as a “wisdom book,” so it’s not surprising that wisdom is an overarching theme, but sometimes, it feels like it’s taunting me.
I want to walk in wisdom. I want to be wise. I want to walk the paths my heavenly Father has beaten through the forest for me. But that’s just it. the path of the Lord is not a street of gold through this world.
My husband is from central Minnesota, and as such, every November, his family gets together for deer hunting. I don’t understand the allure of getting up at four in the morning to sit by myself in the cold, so I stay home, wake up at a respectable time, and help my mother-in-law make biscuits and gravy for hunters’ breakfast when they all come in shivering after sunrise.
The first year we were married, though I went out into the woods with Andrew in early October to “get his deer stand ready.” He had a topographical map, an ax and a vision for the perfect stand placement. We drove his dad’s F-150 as far as we could then set off on foot. Andrew marked our trail with his ax, and we wandered for about an hour before we found the place we were looking for.
When I say “wander,” what I mean is beating a path through trees, bushes, thorns, and poison ivy. what I mean is fighting off swarms of mosquitoes that found their home in the swamp we were mucking through. what I mean is being hit in the face with branches, soaked in mud, and covered in stickers that would take hours to peel off my clothing and pick out of my hair. By the time we got his stand put up, I was sweaty, itchy, and irritated. the cute flats I was wearing were ruined, my cheek, eye, and forehead had mosquito bites, and where my arms weren’t scratched, they were bitten. Andrew, better prepared both in clothing choice and in expectations, gave me a hug and told me the worst was over, and we just had to follow the path we made back.
Paths through the woods are hard to follow, though. We got off track and circled in a wide berth around the truck. Twice. we ended up in a corn field more than a mile from our intended destination, and I had spent three more hours than I expected being an adventurer.
Seeking wisdom feels like finding a path in the brush through the woods. It’s easy to go the wrong direction, the process can bring real pain, and every step of the way, I want to get frustrated and just give up.
Proverbs 2 says that if you “incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding If you seek her as silver, And search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding” (vs. 2-6).
I like this, because it assures us that wisdom WILL come if we seek it. God isn’t hiding from us. He isn’t trying to trick us into going the wrong direction. But seeking wisdom requires total abandonment, like selling everything to buy a field that we know has hidden treasure in it, and that total abandonment requires total trust. Trust that God is good and sovereign and will show up when we seek Him.
It reminds me of a song by Sanctus Real. An old one. But it’s the prayer of my heart right now, so hopefully, it will speak to you, too.
“Show me what it is you want from me, I give everything, I surrender to…
Whatever you’re doing inside of me, it feels like chaos, but somehow there’s peace. You’re up to something bigger than me. Larger than life. Something heavenly.” -Whatever You’re Doing (Something Heavenly)
God’s perspective is so much bigger than ours. He can see beyond the woods we’re in, and that’s where he’s bringing us. So keep seeking that wisdom. It’s leading us to His high places.
