Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, 2 turning your heart to understanding, 3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, 4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, 5 then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. 6 For the Lord gives wisdom, and from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

The first step in gaining knowledge and understanding is to “accept God’s word.” Take it as the absolute truth, read it, study it, apply it. His word contains the answers we need to make the right choices, to live our lives in a way that pleases Him. It reveals God’s heart and character to us. It gives us examples of those who are long gone, and the choices they made whether good or bad and the consequences of those choices.

God has already put in us a knowledge of right and wrong if you do not believe that go visit a pre-school and watch toddlers interact. When one child takes the toy of another they instinctively know they have been wronged and will try to get it back, they automatically know it is not right for the other child to take what they had. We are born with that wisdom, but to gain deeper wisdom and understanding about any subject you have to dig deeper, you need to study that particular subject and as you do your understanding increases, well it is the same when it comes to knowing God, gaining understanding, and knowledge about Him and this life we are to live for him.

We go on to read in verses 9, 10 and 11 these words: “Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. 10 For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul. 11 Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.”

When we read and pray and pray and read (the Bible) we begin to understand the truths of God’s word. We begin to see how sinful we truly are and we understand what we must do to be saved, to live a good life before Christ. We begin to see that we need not fear even death when it comes and so much more. His word is our roadmap for this life. Let’s face it life is hard, sometimes very hard. Often times we are caught up in our own selves and we make bad choices. What do we do then? We remember what we have been taught: “If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us.” (1 John 1:19) But after we do that we need to take stock of what got us into that mess in the first place and learn from it. Yes, even our sin, our mistakes can give us a greater understanding of God, of grace and mercy. It can be a stepping stone to a greater understanding of God when we allow him to move us through it and teach us in it. Yes, we may still have the consequences of our sin to live with, but God’s grace can use it to refine us and mold us.

In verse 11 we read: “Discretion will protect you, and understanding will guard you.” Reading God’s word, allowing the Holy Spirit to teach us gives us a greater ability to discern right and wrong and as we gain that knowledge it protects us. How? Discretion can give us insight into other’s motives towards us whether good or bad. It can help us to determine if the thing we are thinking of doing is right or wrong and in so doing it guards us, keeps us from having to live out those consequences of sin.

We are never going to live completely sinless lives, if you think you are, trust me, you are deceived! But reading God’s word, studying it, letting it fill us and teach us can keep us from sinning so much…or at least it should. It moves us into a deeper relationship with our Lord and gives us a greater desire to live as he did, to love as he did. Gaining knowledge for the sake of seeing yourself more righteous and holy is not what I am talking about. I am saying “know him” “learn of him” “seek him” who is this him? Jesus, our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Healer, our Help, our Counselor, our Protector… and the list just keeps on going. Whatever you need, He is.

I am blessed to sit under a pastor who preaches the word like no one I have ever heard. It is the best orator of God’s word I have had the privilege of hearing, but even though I learn from him every time I hear him speak I must dig into scripture on my own to be sure that I understand and also to make sure I am being lead correctly. I cannot know if he is speaking the truth unless I myself search it out.

So, I guess I say all this to say: “READ YOUR BIBLE, PRAY AND ASK FOR WISDOM AND UNDERSTANDING!”​