Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 16:21-24(KJV):
21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent: and the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning.
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life unto him that hath it: but the instruction of fools is folly.
23 The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.
24 Pleasant words are as an honeycomb, sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.

Proverbs 16:21-24(Amp):
21 The wise in heart shall be called prudent, understanding and knowing; and winsom speech increases learning (in both speaker and listener).
22 Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it, but to give instruction to fools is folly.
23 The mind of the wise instructs his mouth, and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips.
24 Pleasant words area as a honeycomb, sweet to the mind and healing to the body.

Thoughts for the Day:

The book of Proverbs has much to say about wisdom and understanding, as both are increased by the words we hear and the words we speak. Verse 21 calls those who are wise in heart, "prudent."   Notice this verse says wisdom of the heart.  This kind of wisdom comes from above, and is placed in our hearts when we diligently seek God. There is another kind of wisdom that the Bible calls earthly, sensual and devilish. This kind of wisdom produces strife, confusion and every evil work.

James 3:13-18:
13 Who is a wise man and endued with knowledge among you? let him show out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.
14 But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth.
15 This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish.
16 For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.
17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.
18 And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace.

We also notice in these verses that wisdom and knowledge are linked to controlling what comes out of our mouths.  Worldly wisdom produces envy, bitterness, strife and a host of other things.  God's kind of wisdom   is pure, peaceable, gentle, easy to be entreated and merciful. It bears good fruit and is not partial, and has no hypocrisy. Learning to control our speech is the first step to being wise. A pleasant person is a much better learner and listener.

Verse 22 of our study verses tells us that understanding is a wellspring of life. If we take time to be attentive and study God's Word, our understanding shall be increased and we become wiser each day. When we have God in our hearts, it floods up as that wellspring of life. A fool, on the other hand, is unteachable.  Therefore it is a waste of time to try to instruct him. The Bible definition of a fool is one who is rebellious.  Those who rebel against the ways of God will never gain wisdom.

Verse 23 tells us that if we are wise, we will stop and think before we say something.  People who just blurt out things invariably will cause damage with their mouths. Those who are wise will say things that are good and right and will be able to persuade others as to their way of thinking. In verse 24 pleasant words are contrasted as to being like honeycomb. Good and gentle words are sweet to the mind and also bring healing to the body.  On the other hand, when people harbor resentment and bitterness and speak harsh words to someone over and over, it can produce illness in their body because it is the result of negative words. No one likes to be around those who have an ugly disposition and are continually voicing unpleasant things.  We must guard our hearts, and one way to do that is to watch what we say, as even our own words can bring a curse to our lives if we continue to speak negative and destructive things. 

Proverbs 4:23-24: " Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee."

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, I am thankful for all of Your many blessings this day.  Lord, I do desire to have Your wisdom.   You see the future, so help me to make the best decisions, so that I do not have greater problems tomorrow. Lord, help me to guard my mouth and restrain my lips from any evil.  Help me to be a loving witness of Your goodness and give me the boldness to proclaim the gospel.  Bless all of those who touch my life and keep them from harm.   I am grateful to be Your child.  Father, I ask this in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.