Proverbs 8

"So, my dear friends, listen carefully; those who embrace these my ways are most blessed. Mark a life of discipline and live wisely; don't squander your precious life. Blessed the man, blessed the woman, who listens to me, awake and ready for me each morning, alert and responsive as I start my day's work. When you find me, you find life, real life, to say nothing of God's good pleasure. But if you wrong me, you damage your very soul; when you reject me, you're flirting with death." Proverbs 8:32-36

The person speaking in the above verse is Wisdom. In the beginning of chapter 8 we are told Wisdom stands in the middle of a busy street crying out to us. This is how desperately wisdom wants to guide us. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle and noise of our lives, wisdom is crying out to guide us. She recognizes all the other voices screaming for our attention. She knows it's often hard for us to hear her. However, she does issue a warning to us if we are unable to tune in and be guided by her.

I feel it is safe to say all the bad decisions in my life have been made with a lack of wisdom. The good I have seen played out in my life has come about as a result of seeking not only man's wisdom, but also God's wisdom. Just as the scripture here in Proverbs says, when we find wisdom it leads us to real life. Not only will we begin to see our lives lived in the way they are supposed to be, but we also find God is pleased with us!

If we do not seek wisdom, we are told we are damaging our soul. Not only has my soul been damaged by my own lack of wisdom, but by the lack of wisdom from others. Sometimes this damage was as a result of my lack of wisdom by choosing to associate with the person who eventually hurt me. Do you see the common thread here? It's the lack of wisdom!

We flirt with death when we choose to reject wisdom. Many times God places people into our lives to speak wisdom to us. We often become so focused on what we want that we disregard the warnings God is giving to us. Do you have people in your life who are wise? Are you honest with them about your thoughts, feelings, and actions? Do you have wise counsel? Where do you go for your wisdom? Is your standard of wisdom guided by the wisdom of the world or do you have Godly women in your circle of friends who can give you advice that lines up with the wisdom of God and scripture? I would encourage you today to seek out these types of friendships. Not only seek these out, but also evaluate if there are current relationships you may need to end. I know this is a hard thing to do. We may not want to hurt anyone's feelings, yet we know their "advice and counsel" is not guided by wisdom. I am praying for you today to start a pattern of wise choices and for guidance on the relationships God wants for you and also wisdom on those He may want you to end.