Today I wanted to draw your attention to a verse in Proverbs, one that I think is particularly appropriate in light of all that we're going through right now. And I think it's another answer to the question, why wisdom? Why do we want to be wise?

King Solomon, the son of David, is attributed with writing most of the Proverbs. In Proverbs 1:33, he writes this: “...but whoever listens to me [wisdom] will dwell secure
and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.”
The New Revised Standard Version translates the Hebrew “will live without the dread of disaster.”

The idea is that wisdom provides security in the midst of chaos. What does it mean for us to be at ease when the rest of life is swirling around us, when trouble is everywhere? It certainly can't mean that we live an easy life while others are struggling all around us. How can you and I live securely when everything around us is absolutely crumbling?

The Hebrew word for ease means rest from trouble; it’s the calm that's undisturbed by anything around you. And so wisdom is this ability to get perspective, to be able to actually zoom back and see the bigger picture. Wisdom allows us to take a breath, take a step back, and review what is going on in light of my experiences. I know this to be true in the context of what I know and what I've experienced about God. What does that say about everything else that's going on around me?

The Proverbs continually point to a contrast between the wise and the foolish. The fool is somebody who just spontaneously erupts: They don't give it any thought before they post something on Facebook let words come flying out of their mouth. But the wise person, because they have this wisdom perspective, is able to say, Let me take a deep breath before I respond. 

In John 16:33, on the night before he was betrayed, Jesus told his disciples, “I've told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Jesus is using wisdom language. In other words, he’s saying, In the midst of trouble, I'm with you. I'm never going to leave you. 

Wisdom points us to the fact that while it looks like everything else around us is crumbling, we know this: Jesus will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). We are so deeply loved that there is nothing they can break his love for us, even this that we’re going through now. And so today, could you rest in that love? That's the wisest thing that you can do. 

Prayer for Today
Father in heaven, in the midst of all of this, our hearts are racing. We want to respond. We want to post. We want to just blurt out. We want to be angry. We want to be anxious. 
And yet what you're asking us is to take a step back and know that your love is the greatest constant in our life even in the midst of trouble. And we ask that you would make this apparent to us today. It's in Jesus name that we pray. Amen.