Proverbs 2:12-22

And so begins the benefits of wisdom. We see again that with wisdom we can be shielded from those who do wicked deeds. This is a logical conclusion, since we must first find wisdom by fearing the Lord, which in turn should lead us to a right walk with God. If we are in a right walk with God, then it will not be possible to fall-in with evilness. So wisdom is a natural hedge against those who seek to do harm or act against God's will.

Let me provide a bit of a testimonial here. If you are a date checker, then you might notice that I consistently entered a posting every day last week, but then was silent for 5 days straight. Now, I don't plan on posting regularly on the weekend, and Monday I was out camping. But Tuesday and Wednesday I simply chose not to post which meant I also did not seek God's wisdom those days by reading and meditating on his word. So there I am, purposefully being disobedient and consciously turning my back on wisdom and guess what happens next. Well, Tuesday morning I receive an anonymous email inviting me to view Nichole Kidman's breasts. Now I have struggled my entire life with pornography and have only recently, through God's help and the strength of friends, been able to step away from its trappings. But, for whatever reasons, I decided to follow the link instead of immediately deleting the email: I chose to "leave the straight path and walk in dark ways". Why? because I had consciously chosen to turn my back on wisdom and hence the safety she provides was lifted. Now on Tuesday I felt ashamed that I had fallen into an old trap and sought out God's forgiveness which was provided immediately, thank you Jesus. But come Wednesday, do you think I was back to the grindstone seeking out God's wisdom? No. In fact I was back seeking out more pornography! Without my soul focused on God, without the security of wisdom, I was like a leaf in the wind blown around by my own physical desires and the ways of wicked men. I thank God that he woke me this morning with the infinite love and patience he has and reminded me of my commitment to study his word and to seek out his wisdom.

As I said, I don't think that the temptations nor my lapse of resolve was a punishment for being disobedient, but instead it was a natural consequence of being out of tune with the ways of wisdom. I was distracted from the straight path and quickly fell in with the crooked. There is truth in God's word and we live it every day. God is being honest with us when he says that He will save us from evil ways, that He will be our shield and our protector. But due to our free will we have to turn to him to allow for his protection.

Peace
Dustin