If you wonder how to know God better or to just get an understanding of Him, the answer is in Proverbs 2:1-5:
1 My son, if you receive my words, and treasure my commands within you, 2 So that you incline your ear to wisdom, And apply your heart to understanding;
3 Yes, if you cry out for discernment, And lift up your voice for understanding,
4 If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;
5 Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.
It is not as hard as it sounds. First, we must understand who is speaking in this verse. Wisdom is speaking. Chapter 2 is a continuation of chapter 1 beginning in Proverbs 1:20 and continuing through to chapter 2.
With that in mind, the commands are as follows:
Receive words of wisdom
Treasure commands of wisdom
Incline your ear to wisdom
Apply your heart to wisdom
Seek wisdom like you would search for silver and hidden treasure
Receive speaks of openness. We must have an openness to wisdom. Receive also speaks of an action on our part, e.g. allowing entry. In other words, we must allow wisdom to enter our thinking, we must not block it or reject it. We must accept it. It doesn’t sound like much, but many in our day and throughout human history have rejected wisdom because of the little it required of them–acceptance. The heart of mankind is wicked. It seeks its own–it seeks to be first, but it doesn’t always seek to earn that position.
To accept the wisdom of God, I must let go of my own wisdom, my own thinking, my own self-reliance. To receive, I must have, in the modern vernacular, available storage space for the new information.
Once I receive the wisdom of God, I must learn to treasure it. I must not put it aside like so much well-intentioned fruitcake received at Christmas from a beloved relative only to be tossed out several months later uneaten. To treasure means to value, to consider of great worth. It is the answer to the question, “What do you take with you when your home is burning and you only have a few minutes to get out? To treasure is to carry near to your heart, like a newborn child. In treasuring the wisdom of God, I must value what God says. I must consider of great worth that which God says is of great worth. I must not accept cheap substitutes for the treasures of God’s kingdom.
Incline your ear suggests being attentive. I must choose to put aside distractions, things or people that beckon me to listen–instead I must listen for the voice of God, for what He is saying to me, the wisdom He is imparting to me.
Apply your heart suggests diligence. I must be intentional in my desire to learn the wisdom of God. It’s not a passive activity. I will not absorb the wisdom of God by osmosis or pew sitting or outreach attendance or even by Bible reading alone. I must choose and pursue. I must study to show myself approved. I must be a Berean, receiving the wisdom of God with readiness and searching the scriptures to see if things are true. I must lay aside every weight and snare that may slow me down.
Seeking wisdom like one would seek for silver or hidden treasure paints a vivid picture. If I knew silver or hidden treasure lay ahead on the path, would I amble by casually looking around? No! I would be searching, pushing back bushes, looking under rocks, digging in loose ground, evaluating clues and signs. I would be motivated. That is how I should seek after the wisdom of God.
This discussion is not intended to add any burden, but to remind you. After all, God has promised that those who seek Him diligently, will find Him.
Rooted and Grounded 