A couple gems from Proverbs..

Welcome back guys! So today I found out there’s a Proverbs Challenge to read one proverbs a day everyday in May. So I said I have to jump on that and bring you guys with me! I think I’ll be a little something different to do together and just to grow in wisdom together. Hence I thought I might as well cease the opportunity and make an insta challenge out of it. So, STOP what you're doing and go and check out my insta page @livinglifegracefullyx and get involved!

So today’s meant to be Day 5, but we’ll do Proverbs 1 and Proverbs 5. Like we’ll do 2 a day till we get to Proverbs 4 if that makes sense (not too sure if that articulated well, but we’ll see). Better let than never ahhh ( not sure how I missed the challenge but we move😕).

I’m loving Proverbs 1 today! Just a bit of background context in the book of Proverbs, one of the prominent writers was Solomon he wrote from Chapter 1-29, it was intended to be a dialogue that provided knowledge to his son. He was coined the wisest king, particularly commended for his wisdom on the two women with the baby ( 1 Kings 3:16-28). The book of Proverbs is amongst the wisdom literatures e.g. Psalms and Job.

In terms of the meaning of the word Proverbs, it quite basically means “to be like”, as in to be like Solomon (simply put to be wise!). The beauty of Proverbs, is that there is very little mention of concepts such as salvation. I believe it was by no mistake that is book is unique to all the different books in the bible as the primary aim is to apply wisdom into our lives- both christian and non-christians. Proverbs is essentially just a compilation of life truths. These are universal truths and is arguably the most practical book in the bible in terms of clear instructions on how to live a fruitful life in a modern world. It covers a plethora of topics that transcend from culture to culture such as friendships, business, work and so much more. Just to summarise, it is just a book full of pure GEMS!don’t hear it from me though, hear it from Solomon ( he) speaks on the purpose from verse 1-7).

Chapter 1

So yeah lets delve into my favourite verse of the day:

Proverbs 1:7

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, fools desire wisdom and discipline"

I love how it starts in verse 7 by uniting “wisdom, knowledge and discipline”, because I find this so applicable to the concept of school, as if I really think about it - unless all three components are there I’m essentially not maximising my output. I could have all the knowledge in the world, but if I’m not able to accurately apply it (using wisdom), then its essentially void. Equally so, I could have this wisdom and knowledge, but if I lack discipline to look over the content I am again putting myself at a deficit, because I may do well but not to the fullest of my ability.

* I want us to take this time to think of a personal example on how you can personally apply this trio to your life*

Chapter 2:

My personal favourites are verse 2, 6 & 10

Verse 2:

”Listening closely to wisdom and directing your heart to understanding”

I love how it reiterates that wisdom comes from the heart and the importance of the heart posture. I know the concept of the heart is just something I’ve recently started to take seriously, it’s important for us to unharden our hearts and constantly ask God to purify our hearts. Even from 2 Corinthians 7:1 it says:

Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Verse 6

”For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding“

To me, this just reiterates the importance of leaning into God and staying close with him! If we’re in constant relationship with him, we will continue to grow in wisdom, knowledge and understanding.

Verse 10

”For Wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will delight you”

I just love how it keeps coming back to the heart! It also speaks to the enlightenment we receive when our heart opens up to knowledge. A way we can continue to get knowledge is simply by reading the word.

Chapter 3

Ahhhh I’m probably going to be such a basic babe but my honest favs are Proverbs 3:5-6. Like it’s honestly just one of my life mottos for real ( or I try for it to be).

Verse 5 & 6

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

I just love the part where it says “in ALL your ways acknowledge him”. This to me is just saying put God first in everything, put him in all things, we can put him in anything and guess what ?? He’ll show us where to go and which path to take. Honestly I just saw this and thought wow what a beautiful privilege. It again just highlights like “Grace you don’t need to know all the answers because you’ve got someone who does”. I don’t even look at this at a way that undermines me, instead it actually adds to me. It just reminds me that sometimes I enter into self-righteous mode and this is so detrimental as I’m essentially making myself my own god by doing things to “my own understanding” by doing this my way which isn’t always the best way. Yeah it can get me far, but not as far as if I was just to wholeheartedly trust him! So I’m just encouraging us to trust God with it all!! Nlot just in part

Chapter 5:

My favourite verse, is verse 1-2

"My son, pay attention to my wisdom listen closely to my understanding so that you may maintain discretion and your lips safeguard your knowledge".

To to me is just showing the important of cautioning my lips and watching what comes out of them! Wisdom in, wisdom out. It’s important to lead our lives by example and ensure that what I speak and even how I act is a testament of what I’ve been putting in I.e. what I’m reading in the bible. It’s just encouraging my not to be a Christian by name, but to actually allow people to see it by my actions!

Chapter 6 The bit that resonated with me the most was the bit about the lazy man. Guys I can’t lie, it SLAPPED me in the face for real😭. Verse 6-11:

“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”

Important bits to highlight from this, is that humans are being compared to ants!!! We can learn by example from them for real, it wasn’t till today that I properly started to think of the metaphor of ants, and essentially they’re just proverbial for hard work. Like the epitomise hard work, particular because they work without “ leader or ruler” essentially they work without being told to do it! They just do it!!! They don’t have an “overseer” or someone on their neck 24/7 they just use initiative and do it. That’s how I’m trying to be for real!!!

Next point, they work hard in the summer ie when there’s harvest and that’s when they do the work! I love that because it just illustrates how intentional we should be.

Right the next bit, again SLAPPED ME ( no joke when they say the word of God is used as a tool to correct they’re not joking!!). “ How long will you sleep!?????”. “ When will you wake up?” “ How long will you stay in bed”.

At this point, I don’t know how much more direct Solomon could’ve been, because he is screaming in my ear😭 Basically he’s just saying there’s work to be done do it!!! Don’t let time pass you by without you being productive!! If you don’t do it, who will??? There’s a specific call on your life, intentionally placed by God. So it’s just encouraging me to be intentional, because the work in my hands was intentionally placed by God. Because at this point I’m tired of slacking!! The thing is, if you know me you’ll know I literally never RESTTTT!! But this period all I’ve been doing is sleeping and getting into the word & I’ll be real it’s at the expense of my university work. That work has been sitting there for a while now, so I need to get a move on for real! But yeah I really loved this bit because it’s motivating me to do what I need to do!!!! Not to be idle and to find the perfect median between rest and hard work🤝

Now I’ve shared my favourite verse and my favourite part why don’t you get involved by sharing your favourite part and one thing you’ll be applying to your life from Proverbs 1,2,5 and 6. Let’s make it an instagram challenge, tag @livinglifegracefullyx and share with others what you’ve learnt!

Use the template below and use this opportunity to grow wiser with your friends by reading a Proverbs a day and sharing what you've learnt! Can't wait to learn from you all xxxx