Daily Wisdom Challenge — Proverbs 4

For the month of October, we are answering the challenge John Goldwater, pastor of Christ Community Church in Grenada, MS, laid out — the #DailyWisdomChallenge. Each day, we are going to read through a chapter of Proverbs corresponding to the day of the month.

This fits with what we have studied in Colossians, specifically Colossians 3:1-2, namely that we should seek “the things that are above, where Christ is” and set our minds like a thermostat “on things that are above, not on things that are on earth”. Imagine what a month meditating on God’s Word daily can do for us.

Won’t you join us on this #DailyWisdomChallenge and set your minds on Christ?

This section of proverbs is written father-to-son and gives a good picture of why the wisdom of God is good for us — and better than the wisdom of the world.

There is a phrase in English that is meant to convey this: father knows best. There was even a TV show with that name in the 1950s. Well, it ain’t the 1950s anymore. Fathers don’t always know best or give the best advice; they don’t always give the best example to follow and aren’t too consistent (even absent in too many cases).

The phrase “father knows best” doesn’t mean what it once did. And, truth be told, it didn’t mean it as often as folks would like to believe then. Here’s some good news, though: God the Father knows best. Always. His wise counsel is worth following. His example is worth following. He is the very definition of consistent. And because He is God, He is never absent!

The picture we get in Proverbs 4 is instruction for the son to “be attentive” in order to “gain insight”. So, for us in this #DailyWisdomChallenge (and for all the days that follow until we stand before the Father), we should be attentive to what God the Father has to tell us in His Word. That will give us insight into how He intended us to live, and since He is God — the inventor of humanity and the giver of life, He knows how He designed life to work best. God the Father knows best.

Here’s some more good news: we never have to wonder if God is leading or guiding us the right way. Earthly fathers are fickle and often fail (I am unfortunately an example of this), but God the Father always gives us “good precepts”. He never leads us wrongly. So, don’t forsake His teaching but follow it wholeheartedly.

Lord, help us to hear you and be attentive to Your Word. Instill in us a trust for You as Father that may not come easy to us, and give us the strength and opportunity to live out your “good precepts”. Amen.