Wisdom Cries Out

Proverbs 8:1-5 Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way, where the paths meet.
She cries out by the gates, at the entry of the city, at the entrance of the doors:
“To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.

Finding God’s wisdom is something we all desire. But how to get it, where to find it—these can be challenges. But before we try to figure out a repeatable formula of how to find it, it might be good to take a look at the scriptures above. Wisdom, in fact, isn’t as elusive as it seems. It’s looking to find us.

We often think that wisdom is buried, like treasure, and we have to seek it that way. Yes, it’s more valuable than silver, gold and rubies (vv. 10-11). But it’s not hiding. It’s calling to us, crying out, and lifting up her voice.

And where does wisdom cry out? On a faraway mountain, or deep inside a well? No, it’s crying out all over the place, especially where people might hear. On a high hill, beside the way, where paths meet, by the gates (an especially populated and busy location) at the city entrance and at the doors. These are where people gather, or where they walk by. Wisdom is crying out to be heard, and is lifting up her voice where we are most likely to be.

This is not the conception we often have of God’s wisdom. We’re often so eager to find it that we forget what God’s word says about it. It’s crying out to us, desiring to bring us blessings of every sort (read the rest of Proverbs 8). Our problem may be that we are not listening. Or we are distracted. Or perhaps we think that wisdom must be at the end of a process of pros-and-cons, or thinking through all the options, and finally attaining it. But wisdom isn’t attained by our work. It’s heard, and received.

Vv. 34-35 says “Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoever finds me finds life…” Are we listening, watching and waiting on God? Can you hear wisdom crying out to you?

Prayer: Lord, as I seek wisdom throughout my life, help to view it rightly. Teach me how to let go of worldly ways of trying to find your wisdom, and to believe that it’s lifting up its voice to me. Thank you that wisdom is a gift that’s received, not arrived it. Teach me to listen to You, to watch, to wait, and finally, to receive.