Hear Instruction

"Hear instruction and be wise, and do not neglect it" (Prov. 8:33, ESV).

I find the same themes reoccur in my life. When I read the Word, it speaks to my need for instruction. My heart yearns to be wise, yet I feel far from wise. Instruction seems so hard to receive.

My heart wants the freedom to be foolish. It wants to cast off restraints and rebel against wisdom. My heart despises discipline. Yet, somewhere in the deep recesses of my heart there is a yearning for order amid the chaos.

A voice cries out in the wilderness of my heart, "Prepare the way of the Lord." And God's grace restrains me. The Spirit applies these calls to instruction to my heart. My "ears" are opened and I "hear." Listen to instruction and you will be wise. But wise for what?

If we hear the Lord's instructions, we will be wise in his service. We must not neglect his instruction, for to neglect it is to despise. If we recognize the instruction of the Lord as the treasure it is, then we will be willing to leverage everything to own it.

If only we would listen to the voice of wisdom, and heed instruction, then we would be wise. If only we would pursue wisdom with diligence, then we would obtain it. How my heart yearns for wisdom. Does your heart for wisdom, too?