“My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding, and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” Proverbs 2:1-5 (emphasis mine)
Watching the Olympics, I had to remind myself to breathe! The look on the athletes’ faces — the fear, excitement, and focus — was exhilarating to behold. Four years of training (at least) was being put to the test. They had to push and stretch their personal limits to make it to that point, sacrificing and rearranging their lives to accommodate preparation. The Olympics tested everything they had to give; they risked heartbreak and injury. They had to want it more than anything as they went for gold!
When I read the verbs in the passage above, I noticed their increasing intensity: accept, store up, turn your ear, apply your heart, call out for insight, cry aloud for understanding, look as if you are searching for hidden treasure. Then comes the promise of gold: “you will “understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.” The passage evokes a progressive response from surrender and compliance to wholehearted pursuit of God’s will.
Our relationship with God should reflect this same pattern. If we will accept God’s words to us and hold them like treasure in a safety deposit box; if we will turn our ear to hear His wisdom and apply our hearts to understand and apply what He is saying; if we will call out to Him and ask Him for understanding; if we will put the effort into looking and searching as if the goal is silver or hidden treasure; then all of us will get the gold. Getting the gold is not a maybe if we seek God wholeheartedly. It’s a promise! We will understand the fear of the LORD and will have the treasure of knowing God.
Lord, work in us such a profound desire to know You and to gain wisdom that we will apply ourselves to the search and application of truth and wisdom. Thank You that You and Your word is worth the effort and sacrifice. Give us the faith and grace to accept Your words as truth and to not resist or dismiss You. Amen.
Take Action
Ponder the effort you are making in your search to grow in wisdom to know God better. Seek wisdom in a practical way this week: start reading a new book, read through a book of the Bible, or arrange to have a coffee with someone you respect as mature in the faith.