Amen! Brad!

Blessings,
Pat Ferguson



At 09:35 AM 8/8/05, you wrote:
>"Blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding.
>For her profit is better than the profit of silver and her gain better
>than fine gold. She is more precious than jewels; and nothing you desire
>compares with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are
>riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace.
>She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who
>hold her fast. The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, by understanding He
>established the heavens. By His knowledge the deeps were broken up and the
>skies drip with dew. My son, let them not vanish from your sight; keep
>sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and
>adornment to your neck. Then you will walk in your way securely and your
>foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you
>lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden fear nor of
>the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; for the LORD will be your
>confidence and will keep your foot from being caught. -- Proverbs 3:13-27
>
>Wisdom and understanding has always intrigued me when it is talked about
>in the Bible. Reading the above scripture it appears to provide restful
>sleep, elimination of fear, provision financially, protection from evil,
>not necessarily the affects of evil upon us by others, but evil entering
>our lives, that we might not get caught up in it, captured by it, stumble
>on it, or partake of evil ways. And although we may find ourselves in the
>midst of evil affects, we are not affected by it as the enemy would like
>as Psalms 23 says. It also provides long life, peace, joy, honor,
>discretion and security in life. To me it seems that to seek wisdom and
>understanding along with knowledge, that it cuts to the chase of
>challenges in all the areas listed above  which are challenges of many
>folks today, myself included. I've noticed as well that where wisdom is
>mentioned, nearly always you will find understanding mentioned as well,
>and many times knowledge is listed among them. I know in my own life I
>tend to feel uneasy if there are too many loose ends lying around,
>scattered knowledge or a lack of tangible action. Some due to my own
>credit, and some are due to circumstances or situations, or things I can
>not control. Whatever the case, doesn't it seem to just bring a peace
>about you when you pray, read God's word and find hope in God's word
>towards those things in life? Even if the hope one finds is hope itself
>that things will be physically, mentally emotionally, financially or
>situationally better soon, if not right today, they will be. And if we
>follow the wise words of Proverbs, acquiring knowledge, wisdom and
>understanding, we will walk securely, with peace and joy. Wouldn't it be
>nice however if we could read in Proverbs 32:1 "Wisdom cries from the
>streets saying "Pick up your coat and move to another city and find there
>the gifts God has waiting for you", or maybe more specifically "Brad, for
>thy earnings, go into the city and buy and sell more for ten months, then
>sell all you have and move from that city to the one located at the bottom
>of the big river".". Wouldn't it be nice if we had specific written
>instruction to follow so we knew without a doubt where we are to be led
>during challenges of life? But if we had such, we'd not acquire wisdom and
>understanding by learning to recognize it in between the printed lines of
>life, but merely follow it mindlessly. Perhaps it could be likened to
>someone grabbing your arm and whisking you  from Point A to Point B as
>opposed to you walking along  side them having to pay attention to your
>surroundings and pathway so you know your  path back. Similarly
>as  feeding one a meal  of fish is not as good as teaching one to fish,
>that they may eat for a lifetime rather than just one day, such teaching
>of wisdom as it might apply in our modern lives helps us draw nearer to
>God. Sort of like  someone  whispering something to you from across the
>room. What is our natural reaction? To quiet our mouth, quiet those things
>around us, lean in and lend our ear as close to the source of the voice as
>we possibly can that we can hear what is being said. Whatever our
>situation in life,  it seems that peace  is the evidence of wisdom's path
>in our lives. Have you ever gotten disorientated be it walking a familiar
>path, caught up in thought or distraction and found you are no longer on
>your familiar path? Nothing seems familiar to you and you feel a bit lost?
>And how peaceful, reassuring or comforting is it to find you've made it
>back to that familiar path after searching and searching for that familiar
>landmark that says you are back on track. Be it lost while
>walking  downtown with your cane or dog, or  driving in a car in
>unfamiliar highway, we find the value of the peace of wisdom's path.
>During those times however when we are searching for that landmark, that
>familiar benchmark, it is important to know we have confidence in the Lord
>that he is watching us and we are  much more lost in our own thoughts than
>in reality. It doesn't always seem as such, but that is where we
>
>"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 your
>paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and turn
>away from evil. It will be healing to your body and refreshment to your
>bones." -- Proverbs 3:5-9
>
>The ultimate tangible peace is recognizing the trust in God and leaning
>not on our own understanding, as that familiar  landmark that assures us
>we are alright. It seems almost contradictory as we are to use wisdom and
>understanding for discernment to guide us in life, but it is the absence
>of peace that is the true guide whether we are with God or off the path he
>is leading no matter if we are traveling by the discernments provided by
>wisdom given us, or in the midst of those times of trust when we haven't a
>clue which direction to turn in life.  Recently we  talked about songs, of
>which "Bridge Over Troubled Waters" was mentioned, trust in God  could be
>likened to such a bridge. A bridge, a solid path of trust is provided when
>we run across dips in life that would otherwise leave us without footing.
>We trust the bridge we are walking on, be it the Golden Gate, Mackinaw,
>some Interstate Bridge, or a foot bridge over a small creek in YourTown
>USA, , will hold us up until we get to the other side of the dip or water.
>Such is the trust in God in life.
>
>Brad