To know her voice

Does not wisdom cry out,
And understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
Beside the way, where the paths meet.
She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city,
At the entrance of the doors. Proverbs 8:1 (NKJV)

Wisdom stands in a high place, shouting, "Listen!" If she is crying out so loudly, how is that we so often miss her? She is not hiding from us, that much is clear. No, but where she stands there are many others standing and shouting, in competition with Wisdom's voice. Evidently we need to intimately know her voice so we can pick it out in the noisy crowd.

Wisdom stands at the crossroads in our lives, "where the paths meet." She is not hanging out miles beforehand, or waiting far off in the distance. She is planted right where we need her, right when we need her. If we are already acquainted with the voice of Wisdom, we will be more likely to know her voice when we reach these crossroads, these places of crucial decision making.

Just a few months back, I was standing at my own crossroads, I just didn't realize it. Wisdom was shouting, but so was my heart. I couldn't really discern the two, for I had mixed them up. Thankfully, Wisdom guides our steps, even when we're not aware we need to be rerouted. Wisdom searches our hearts, and she knows far better than ourselves what is there. Though God, in wisdom, may allow our hearts to be broken to reroute us, in His faithfulness and compassion, He will also bind up the brokenhearted, as He has promised (Psalm 147:3). Surely it is better to suffer a temporary broken heart than to suffer the long term consequences of a poor decision. This is Wisdom, teaming up with Grace, at some of her finest.

If we need Wisdom, all we need to do is ask, and then believe. That's it. If in asking, there is still confusion, wait... wait, until Wisdom's voice emerges. We will never be disappointed.

*Inspiration for this entry came from a bible study