Wisdom expressed as trust.

In Prov 9:1 we read that Wisdom’s house has seven pillars. Selwyn Hughes suggests that this describes 7 different aspects of Wisdom. I have decided to investigate it from this angle and look today at the first and most basic pillar of Wisdom which is trust.

In my time with Jesus during the last months I have been continually confronted with this most important concept. I mentioned in a previous blog that I had remembered a decision I made while still searching to “step out of the boat” as it were. This came from the title of a book “If you want to walk on the water you must first step out of the boat”.

So the question I am asking myself now is; how much am I actually trusting the Lord? Ludwig mentioned on Saturday that trust is a decision we make. At the simplest level it is that. However trust can only happen if the object of your trust has been sufficiently revealed to you so that you know Who you are trusting in and can confidently do it, based on this knowledge. So there is a very real spiritual aspect to trust. In addition to this we grow in trust as we experience the result of our trust. Here again I have experienced that God puts us into situations where we are called to trust Him. As we grow in faith, so those situations often become more and more demanding. Ultimately we find that the real gospel life is only possible if we live supernaturally trusting in Jesus.

Reading Prov 3:1-18.

Why don’t you read that passage for yourself, with the central focus on vs 5. Asking yourself how is this vs so basic to our Christian walk?

And then how do we reach this level of trust?

What role does God’s Word play in this? vs 1

What has love and faithfulness to do with it vs 3, and sharing your wealth vs 9?

It seems to me in this passage, basic to getting wisdom to trust the Lord lies two facets. God’s word and true humility vs 1 and 7.

Then in vs 12 the writer suggests that God uses His discipline to enable us to truly trust Him. This is a hard one but underlying that vs is the reassurance that God only disciplines those He loves. (maybe we should see by this vs how important our trust is to God).

Finally in vv 19,20 we see the reminder of who the One is that we are trusting in. I find that meditating on vv like those helps me enormously to build my trust.

Now if you want to, read Psalm 37:1-11

How does this enrich our reading today?

As you read these passages my prayer for all of us is in Ephes 1:17, “I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus, the glorious Father may give you the spirit of wisdom and understanding that you may know Him better”. That his will not be just an intellectual exercise, but that it will be heart-changing as you listen and hear Him speak.