◄ What Does Proverbs 8:12 Mean? ►

"I, wisdom, dwell with prudence, And I find knowledge and discretion.

Proverbs 8:12(NASB)

Verse of the Day

A major theme of the book of Proverbs is wisdom, and much in this poetic script gives advice on the acquisition, development, and application of wisdom in our everyday lives. We read that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, but how sad that the world seeks after worldly wisdom in preference to the unalterable wisdom of the Lord.

Job asks the question, "But where can wisdom be found? And where is the place of understanding?" The answer as always is discovered in the Lord Jesus Christ Who is the personification of wisdom, for in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Through Him all things were made, and He established the world by His wisdom.

The Lord Jesus Christ is the power of God and He is the wisdom of God. Those who have trusted in Him by grace through faith have the mind of Christ, which will guide us into all truth, for the Spirit of Christ Who indwells our heart is ready to lead and guide all who will willingly submit their lives into His keeping. We are encouraged by James to ask for godly wisdom, for He gives wisdom liberally, ungrudgingly, and without reproach, to all who ask Him.

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, and goodness. The fruit of wisdom is prudence, discretion, good judgement, and wise forethought. Wisdom and prudence are two sides of the same godly coin, but the antithesis of wisdom is pride, arrogance, foolishness, recklessness, and wickedness.

The one who reverences the Lord is a wise man indeed, for wisdom and prudence are rooted in godly fear and the one who worships the Lord in the beauty of holiness is he or she who discovers spiritual knowledge and godly discretion, which is beyond the limited understanding of the natural man.

The wisdom we receive from above comes directly from the Lord Who bought us with His own blood. And as we journey along our Christian pilgrimage He protects our path, He directs our walk, and He perfects the way we go. As we trust in His Word and seek His face, He guides us into all truth, prompts us in our actions and attitudes, and corrects and trains us as we submit to His leading and guidance.

May we trust the Lord with all our heart and not rely on our own understanding but rather pursue after godly wisdom which is found in Christ alone so that we may be wise in our judgement, prudent in our behaviour, and show forth spiritual understanding and godly discretion, not only in what we say and do but in all that we are, to His praise and glory.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that in Christ dwells all the wisdom of the Godhead bodily, and I am part of His spiritual Body and one with Him, by faith. I pray that I would be granted wisdom to choose the good and eschew the evil. May my life be rooted in Him so deeply, that His mind will influence my actions, attitudes, words, and behaviour, so that Christ is seen in me. To His praise and glory, AMEN.