"Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord" (Prov. 16:20, ESV).
How much time would you say that you spend in the Word of God each day? Would you say 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 1 hour, or maybe more? How many hours are there in a day? 24. That means there are 1,440 minutes in a day. If we tithed our time in the same way we do our money, that would mean dedicating 144 minutes, or 2 hours and 24 minutes, of every day to the Lord. It has been suggested that it takes a little more that 70 hours to read the entire Bible out loud. Let's say it took 72 hours (4,320 minutes) to read the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. Reading the Bible for 144 minutes every day means we would be able to read the Bible 12 times in a year. That breaks down to once a month. Of course, if we tithed our time, we might not spend all of it every day reading the Scripture. We must also remember prayer, mediation, evangelism, and other things should do to serve the Lord. I'm not suggesting that we spend all day reading the Scripture, because God has given us other responsibilities. My point is that we need to spend some time in Scripture each day.
Solomon's conclusion is that good comes from giving thought to the word. It is possible that he his is speaking in the sense of listening to both sides of a story. He may be say that we need to listen to everything before we draw a conclusion. Then, and only then, will we be able to make the right (wise) decision. More probably, Solomon is referring to the Word of God. This proverb links considering the word with trusting the Lord. In this verse, both are the sure source of positive outcome. Simply put, good comes from giving thought to the word, and blessing comes from trust God.
This passage compels us to give thought to the Word of God, because it brings us into the realm of his blessing. This line of thought resonates with other passages of Scripture. Psalm 1 states that the blessed man is one who rejects sinful life, because of his commitment to God and his Word. The person who lives in obedience to the Word will be fruitful and prosperous in all he does. Solomon's conclusion is consistent with the rest of Scripture. Therefore, we should listen to his wisdom. If we discover good by giving thought to the Word, then we should give the best of our mental energies to contemplating it.
We shouldn't, however, merely contemplate on the Word. It isn't enough to think about it. Good is only discovered in contemplation that comes from faith. In other words, it is only when we search the Scriptures with a believing heart that they yield their vast treasures to us. When we fail to spend time in the Word every day we rob ourselves. We miss an opportunity to spend time with our precious Savior, who died in our place, so that we might become the righteousness of God. We miss out on how to discern his voice of the sea of voices that seek to lead us astray. We lose the opportunity to trained for righteous service. We remain ineffective and unfruitful. When we neglect the Bible, we condemn ourselves to a life of chasing shadows and signs; of always yearning to hear the voice of God, but never hearing it; of hoping for blessing, but never receiving it in its fullness.
However, if we, in faith, give the Word serious thought, we will discover good. We will learn that God still speaks, that he loves us, that the mess we call life has a purpose beyond anything we can fully comprehend, that he is always in control, and that he is always, always holy and righteous. We discover good in the Word, because we first discover God there.
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