My son, if you accept my words
and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom
and applying your heart to understanding—
3 indeed, 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;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
Proverbs 2:1-6
I am a weary traveler
The way long and deep
I’ve almost reached the Pacific
About to turn back toward the Atlantic.
But, in between,
Grasping, fighting, sucking in
Ragged breaths
Endurance has a price
Pilgrimage its own prize.
The end of this part of my journey
Is in sight
And victory through Jesus
Will be mine.
~Marcell Warner Bridges
©27 April 2016
I am a weary traveler Lord.
Yet, your word says if we wait on You, we will not grow weary, nor will we faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
But I am weary, and I think I have figured out why.
Waiting on You requires patience. Sometimes my patience runs out. And when the well runs dry, so does the spirit.
That’s why we need our strength renewed. But how do we wait on the Lord properly so we don’t become weary?
I believe the answer lies in keeping ourselves hidden in Christ.
Proverbs 2:1-6 gives some vast insight into this:
- Keep God’s commands. But how?
- (by) Inclining our ears to His wisdom
- Through applying our hearts to understanding
- Crying out for discernment (insight)
- Seeking God’s wisdom, God’s heart, as if we are searching for hidden treasure
THEN! We will understand and find the knowledge of God because we sought Him so passionately! There was nothing more we desired, more than fine gold, than to find Him and the wisdom He would give.
Oh how I have missed out on so many good and precious things! I have relied on myself, my own understanding — even of the Scriptures. And in my self-reliance, I become a sojourner in a dry, dusty, barren desert.
Do you know what happens when you get stuck and quit waiting patiently on the Lord? Here’s some other words that describe being weary: beaten-down, exhausted, fatigued, and dead. Or as they say here in the South, “just plumb tuckered out”.
However, when we refresh ourselves daily in His word, seek Him with our whole heart and soul as if we are looking for the “X” that marks the spot to the hidden treasures of His wisdom, then our strength becomes renewed. Our tongues and throats no longer ache from parchment as we apply what we have learned. We walk with our heads held high and feet confident. Suddenly, we feel like we are soaring on eagle’s wings.
Wisdom, knowledge, understanding, and discernment. It’s not always easy gaining them, but they sure do help put a bit of joy back in our step when we know we are waiting rightly on the Lord and walking in His strength instead of our own.
From My Heart to Yours,
Marcie
Beautiful poem and reflection, Marcie. Yes, we should seek God’s wisdom for our lives daily that we might be refreshed, renewed and energized for our walk with Him.
Blessings!
His ways are higher than ours, His thoughts too. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what wisdom He is giving us but when we seek Him with our whole hearts He willing gives it in His time. Thank you for visiting once again, Martha. 🙂
Amen and amen! I can be so stubborn sometimes. Thank goodness the Lord is longsuffering 😉
OH I know, right Nan? And if only I had the patience with myself He has with me. 🙂