“My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you” (Proverbs 3:1-2).
Wisdom is a lifelong search, one that begins in childhood and continues until the end of one’s life. As much as we want to think that we can eventually gain all the wisdom in the world, this simply isn’t true. Wisdom is a constant process of learning and growing, taking the counsel we took to heart in our youth and building upon it as we increase in knowledge and learn to apply it to our lives.
The first few verses of Proverbs 2 depict the search for wisdom as a kind of quest. The speaker is admonishing his son to call our for understanding and insight, to seek wisdom like silver and value it like a precious treasure. To partake in such a search requires dedication. Wisdom won’t just come to the son; rather, he must actively seek it out. He must desire wisdom above anything else, basically devoting his life to finding it. But the reward for gaining wisdom far outweighs the hardships involved in seeking for it. The end of the section states that walking in wisdom leads to blessings. “For the upright will inherit the land,” the passage proclaims, “and those with integrity will remain in it” (2:22).
But how exactly does one go about finding wisdom? Obviously, going around literally calling out for wisdom isn’t going to be much help. Fortunately, Proverbs 3 has an answer for this: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths” (3:5-6). God knows all, and His direction is perfect. He knows far better than we do what is good and wise. When we trust Him with our lives and walk in the path He has laid out for us, we experience the peace Solomon promises for those who dwell in wisdom. If the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, trust in the LORD is the growth of wisdom.
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