Proverbs is a wonderful book packed full of wisdom. As part of my studies with LSSM, I spent a month or so reading the whole of Proverbs and writing out any verse mentioning life, health, or days. The result? I have a list of verses describing healing and how God’s wisdom can nourish my soul. This post describes some of my thoughts on verses that stood out to me as I completed this exercise.
Proverbs 9: 10-11: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life
Proverbs says many times that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This isn’t talking about unhealthy being afraid of God type of fear. Rather, this is talking about awe and reverence which means deep regard and respect. When we see God as He really is then can also see ourselves and our circumstances as they really are.
Knowledge is merely knowing about something, it’s possible to have knowledge without wisdom. An example would be studying the driver’s manual that comes with a car but having never actually driven a car. Wisdom is knowing how to apply knowledge, having perspective, and being able to make judgements of a situation. I think it is seeing both God and ourselves as we really are that is the beginning of wisdom.
These verses reminded me of the importance of prioritising my relationship with God, to know more of Him so that my perspective will become more like His perspective. It also reminded me to always turn to Him as my source of wisdom. It’s a good thing to have wise counsellors around you but these verses reminded me to go to God too, to seek His wisdom for myself.
Proverbs 4: 20-23: My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.
There is so much to unpack in these few verses. The main thing that stood out to me was the importance of guarding my heart. Negative thoughts can be toxic to your heart. God’s words are the opposite- they are life and when we hold them in our hearts life can flow out from our heart.
These verses reminded me of the importance of treasuring His word. To me, this means spending time listening to Him and studying the bible, spending time reflecting on His word, and taking the time to memorise His word. To me, these verses are a reminder of how precious His word is.
Proverbs 16: 24: Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body
Proverbs 24: 13-14: My son, eat honey, for it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste. Know that wisdom is such to your soul; if you find it, there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off
As someone who loves to write and share, I love the beauty in the image of gracious words being sweet like honeycomb. For me, these verses felt like both an encouragement and a challenge. It’s an encouragement of what God can do through words that we share, how that can be such a blessing to someone that it’s sweet like honeycomb to the soul. It’s also a challenge, to ensure my words are gracious and kind. The Bible speaks so much of the power of the tongue, I hope that I will always use my words, whether spoken or written, to bless, to build up and not tear down, to encourage and edify.
This exercise has been such a blessing to me. Proverbs is a wonderful book so full of wisdom and encouragement that I would recommend everyone do this exercise for yourself: read a chapter of Proverbs a day for a month and write out the verses about healing (or anything else that you would like to study). I typed them out on my PC but you could use a sheet of paper or your journal. At the end of the month, you will have a list or page full of beautiful verses packed with wisdom for your life.
Blessings,
Sally