How to Walk in Wisdom

I am going to die in a storm some day. It is early summer, and it seems like every other day I get a warning that a summer storm is coming in. It may contain hail, maybe tornados, and maybe not. So my mindset is that we can put blankets on cars and batten down the hatches or we can just roll with it and see what happens. Half the time the storm is a mere sprinkle. It’s tiring to try to predict it and who knows if the storm will even come.

Isn’t life like this?

Life is confusing. Lord knows the truth is smeared and distorted by all media channels, and AI makes it even weirder. So here we are on the ground, living our lives, trying to orient ourselves in the world.

Not only is life confusing, sin is stupid. Proverbs 14:12 says there’s a way that seems right to us that leads to death. (My outlook on storms is probably in this category.) The sin in us makes us fools, so in addition to confusion we must grapple with our bad decision making.

So what do we do? Well, Proverbs 1:7 tells us: fear the Lord.

Now this isn’t what it seems. The Bible isn’t telling us to just be scared of God and we’ll be good. Now there is a holy fear we should have of God, and a respect due His name. It’s not less than this reverence, but more — it’s truly believing that God is God and therefore I don’t have to be.

This is different from my mentality on storms. That’s just resignation — whatever happens will happen. No, fearing God means that God is in control of all things and He is perfectly guiding all things in my life. It means heeding God’s word, and listening to His voice in Scripture, over the voice in my head. To fear God is to surrender to His Lordship over me in every way.

The wrath of God was satisfied at the cross of Christ. This fear is not a fear of punishment, but a reverent gratitude. Awe. Worship. Praise.

What does this have to do with wise living? Everything. Wisdom and worship are linked. Worship the wrong thing, and it’ll kill you. Worship God, and you’ll find life.

Are you confused today? Have you made stupid decisions? Fear the Lord. Walk forward into the grace Jesus has purchased for you. The storms will come and go, but if your foundation is built on Christ, you won’t budge:

Matthew 7:24–27

24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (ESV)