One Year Bible - February 18

‍Scriptures to read:

Hebrews 13; Exodus 18:1-19:25; Proverbs 8

“Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens.”

It’s kind of funny how this quote is attributed to Jimi Hendrix because there is no proof he actually said it. But not knowing its original author doesn’t take away from what it means. To be wise, you’ve got to listen. Our passage in Proverbs 8 helps make that clear in a few ways.

Who should we listen to? We know we need to listen to the Lord. Verse 32 and 33 say “listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it.” It’s sometimes hard to hear His voice with a lot of noise coming in all around us, but we can easily cut through that by opening up His Word.

I know this sounds really simple and you’re probably thinking, “easier said than done, Issa!” I get that this can be a hard thing to do because I know that to be real in my own life. But a great place to start is found in verses 6-8, where the speaker talks about knowing what is true. Wisdom, and the subsequent decisions we usually need to make along with it, should be based on the truth. So what should we listen to? The truth. We need our “lips to detest wickedness” (8:7) and things “crooked and perverse” (8:8) because if you keep the bad out, the good things will remain.

As a wife, a parent, a daughter, a child of God, and everything else I am… I want to make sure I’m filled with the right things, so the right things come out for God and all others to see. I know that takes wisdom, so I have to make sure I’m listening.

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Memory Verse: Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. - Proverbs 8:32-33

Prayer: Father, help me to listen to You today. In a world where a lot of lies are told and deceptions are made, will You drown out what isn’t true, so I can see You and what You have called me to do? Remind us that wisdom begins with You. Amen.