Monday, August 18, 2025

           God graciously gives us the gift of a new day and another twenty-four hours of life each morning as we rise from sleep.  Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.”  The earth awakens by God’s design.  And we awaken too. Most of us have certain routines to get ourselves ready for a new day.  Those routines may include a shower, breakfast, dressing and setting aside the things we need for this new day. Many people include morning Bible study and prayer time.  The Old Testament Proverbs teach us to adorn ourselves with the wisdom of God each day as a daily spiritual practice or discipline.  We read, “My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, so that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:1-5).
            Solomon, the writer of Proverbs, shows us the importance of gaining, understanding and applying the wisdom of God to our lives.  This wisdom is gleaned from our reading of the Bible each day.  There are many good devotional books and Bible studies available to us.  But these resources are supplements to Bible study and never substitutes for reading God’s Word.  God is the source or fountainhead of all wisdom so it makes sense to go directly to Him and the Word that He has entrusted to us.  If you wanted to learn how to play quarterback in the NFL, you would probably learn much more by talking with Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts than talking to another football fan about how to play that position.  There is an expression that says “go to the source” when you want to gain some understanding or information.  We gain God’s wisdom for each day by going to the source—God’s Word itself.
            A. W. Tozer has suggested that one reason nations, churches and individuals fail to experience spiritual renewal and revival is a lack of obedience to God.  We often pray to be closer to the Lord or to have a deeper and richer walk with Him but we fail to obey some of His very basic commands and instructions.  Tozer wrote, “If we would have God’s blessings upon us, we must begin to obey.  Prayer will become effective when we stop using it as a substitute for obedience.  God will not accept praying in lieu of obeying.  We only deceive ourselves when we try to make substitutions.”  Just as we prepare our bodies and schedules for each new day, we want to prepare our minds, hearts and spirits as well.  The best preparation is reading the Bible, prayer, expressing gratitude and applying the full armor or God to your life.  We cannot expect to know God or walk with God if we fail to take seriously all that God has provided for us already. 
            Indeed, the spiritual renewal or depth we desire might already be available to us if we simply turned to the wisdom of God for our taking in the Bible itself.  Proverbs is a very practical book that provides a doctoral level education in the wisdom of God.  There are thirty-one chapters so a chapter a day for a month could provide you with a deep dive into what God has declared to be right and good.  I have seen some early research that suggests younger people are intentionally seeking greater depth with the Lord and a developing interest in getting into His Word.  Practically all spiritual awakenings across history have taken place because believers became deeply interested in obeying, knowing, walking with and learning from the Lord.  We will never obey the Lord unless we know what His Word says to us.  We will never know what His Word says unless we walk with Him in His word each day by learning what the Word teaches.  Obeying, knowing, walking and learning tie together.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “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.”  Have a great Monday!