Project 119: Heaven and Nature Sing | Proverbs 2 and James 1:5-6
| Project 119 | Dr. Kely Hatley
Reading for Friday, December 4: Proverbs 2 and James 1:5-6
O come, Thou Wisdom from on high,
Who ordered all things, far and nigh;
To us the path of knowledge show,
And cause us in her ways to go.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.
-"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
Today’s stanza from the Advent carol, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” deals with wisdom and our desire to seek it. In Proverbs 2, Solomon gives a discourse to his son on how to obtain wisdom. In verses 3 and 4, Solomon lays out the way one should go about obtaining it. We know from James 1:5-6 that God desires to give us wisdom:
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind” (James 1:5-6 NKJV).
In verse 4, Solomon uses an analogy of the act of pursuing something precious (silver) and searching for it (as hidden treasure) as the way to gain wisdom. Verse 3 encourages us all to “call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding” (Proverbs 2:3 NIV). When I read this verse I feel that this is an encouragement for us to pray more than a simple “help me know what to do” prayer. I sense an urgency in the text and a real drive to call upon God to reveal His understanding to us. After all, as James has already reminded us, we are also told to ask God for wisdom. Thankfully, the writer of James reminds us that God desires to give us wisdom when asked, but we are also encouraged to ask God in faith, without doubting (James 1:6). This is a hard thing for many of us to do, myself included. I have found that it takes determination and devotion to set aside an unhurried time of prayer to call earnestly on the Lord to give me wisdom. Too often I think the pace of our lives results in quick, scattered prayers for guidance which do not reflect the intensity outlined in the verses above. While I know that God hears all our prayers, I believe also that the act of a concentrated pursuit and search for God’s wisdom on our part will help us to be open to God’s voice imparting His wisdom when it comes to us.
Today, carve out some time to sit with the stanza of today’s carol, the reading from Proverbs 2, and the additional reading from James 1:5-6. Take the time to read them all, then spend some quality time searching for the “hidden treasure” of God’s wisdom concerning the situations you are facing in life. God is there ready to impart His wisdom to us. Maybe we just need to be in “search mode” to hear His still small voice as He offers the wisdom for which we pursue and search.