Wisdom Fruit: Journey in Proverbs 3: The Creative Force

Proverbs 3:19-20

By wisdom the Lord laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; by his knowledge the watery depths were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew.” Proverbs‬ ‭3:19-20‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This passage really provoked me as it clearly illustrates the preeminence of Wisdom, which the Lord himself used to lay the foundations of the earth. Prior to these verses, Solomon compares wisdom to man’s earthly values (riches etc), but here, wisdom is presented as God’s divine creative instrument to establish the world. Additionally, by the Lord’s Understanding and His knowledge, God hones, shapes and molds the heavens and the waters ( below and above).

Wisdom, understanding, and knowledge are creative elements we can use to speak life, give form and resources to whatever is needed. This passage infers both Genesis when God created the earth and John 1:1 when Jesus is the Word of God made flesh from the beginning. These attributes are part of who God is and this same wisdom that provides direction, brings wealth etc, is also the same that created the universe. As we walk in wisdom, we become one with God’s creation, and have access to the creative dynamic power of God and His divine design. Meditate on this awesome principle!

wisdom #understanding #knowledge #creative #foundation

Unstable Alliances

“41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. 42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.” Daniel 2:41-43″

Partnerships and alliances are important in life, in business, in friendship, in communities, in projects, in games – you name it! It’s very hard to have sustained success without them, and we are not meant to operate alone or in a vacuum. But we should examine them from time to time,because they just may not be working for you.

Think! Have some of your alliances that you thought were strengthening you actually weakened you? This scripture passage in Daniel is eye opening. The feet and toes mentioned are important because they provide the foundation/stability for standing, for mobility, for withstanding a physical challenge also. If there is weakness in the foundation, the entire project, building, enterprise, government or kingdom is unstable.

Check your foundation! Ask yourself, “Is there anything in my foundation that is actually weakening me?” Also, what you may think is mixing well is actually co-mingling, not really joining together or adhering to each other. While there is an appearance of strength, the lack of true cohesion provides a very weak foundation.

Look at your relationships, hobbies, habits, beliefs and you may find that some are weakening and destabilizing your future. Ask God to reveal them to you. Psalms 19:12 says “Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults.”

Like the end of this passage in Daniel 2:44 only the kingdom of God will stand forever. His strength covers our weaknesses. His grace is sufficient and His love never fails. You just can’t go wrong with Jesus, the Chief Cornerstone.

GraceFULL Demolition 

   I have been watching the demolition of the Washington post building for about 2 weeks. They started from the back and just this week started tearing down the front. It has been a controlled demolition and all the while there has been water being sprayed even as they tear it down and haul it away. I thought “This is my life”. 

 It was deja vu – reminding me of the same thought I had when they tore down the Tenley library in 2007 and there was the water in the midst of the destruction. Back then I asked one of the construction workers why they sprayed the water on the wreckage and he said, “It controls the debris, minimizes dust and fly always and makes the process manageable as we tear down the building. It also compacts things making it easier to haul away and clear the lot.” 

 For the last 10+ years God had been tearing parts of my life down to build something new. The first time it felt like my whole life as I knew it before had changed-that everything that was familiar had been torn down. It was difficult because I felt exposed, broken and there was so much debris I didn’t know how I could ever get out. But slowly and surely God’s grace was there watering what I had built before he took it down to the very foundations. His grace was there as The wreckage was removed. 

Somehow I feel like another building- a special part of me needed to be torn down to make way for something new and yes God’s grace, His amazing grace is here managing this process. As uncomfortable as this is, I yield again to His way if only to experience His grace in my life. #Grace #demolition #water