WISE LIVING Series 4 & 5 - Wisdom That Helps Us at Life's Extremes (Proverbs Ch 3)

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is a profound joy and privilege to share with you today from the rich tapestry of God's Holy Word. As we continue our journey through the "WISE LIVING SERIES," Pastor Sam Merigala has opened up to us the glorious truth of "The Wisdom That Helps Us." The path of Wisdom, is not merely a philosophical concept; it is the very way to life, while the way of Folly leads to death. When we walk on this path of divine wisdom, we are blessed with three magnificent assurances: Wisdom protects our path, Wisdom directs our path, and Wisdom perfects our path. Today, our hearts are focused on how Wisdom directs your path as illuminated in Proverbs chapter 3.

Why, you might ask, are we delving so deeply into the Book of Proverbs? Because, as Pastor Sam Merigala faithfully teaches, we need far more than just ethical principles to navigate this complex world. We need a fundamental change, a transformation from the inside out - we need new hearts. We need God's wisdom rooted deep within us, at an intuitive level, guiding us moment by moment through the concrete realities of our daily lives, from one intricate decision to the next. Without the Lord's divine wisdom permeating our beings, many of life's inevitable difficulties will remain a confusing and threatening maze. But with God’s wisdom truly entering our hearts, we begin to grasp the intricate workings of life, and we come alive more and more! The early Christian theologian, Irenaeus, so famously declared, “The glory of God is man fully alive”. And that, my dear ones, is precisely where Proverbs chapter 3 longs to lead us.

Proverbs chapter 2 extended to us an offer of deliverance from evil, a promise of divine protection. But this radiant chapter 3 is remarkably positive! It is nothing less than an education in living life at its absolute best-how to live well in every sphere: at home, at work, in all our surroundings. In Proverbs 3:1-8, our heavenly Father is lovingly showing us the pathway into shalom, that rich, comprehensive biblical peace (v. 2), into "good success" (v. 4), and into "refreshment" (v. 8). This, I must emphasize, is not about trying to earn God's love. Just like in Proverbs chapter 2, this passage begins with the tender address, “My son” in verse 1. God is speaking to each of us as His beloved ones, His adopted children. He was not, you see, merely stuck with us; no, He chose us, because He loves us with an everlasting love. And now, out of that profound love, He is coaching us in how we can live fully alive, all for His magnificent glory.

Now, some of you may be wondering, as we read about "length of days and years of life" (v. 2), "favor and good success" (v. 4), "barns… filled with plenty [and] vats… bursting with wine" (v. 10), and "riches and honor" (v. 16): "Is this the prosperity gospel?" Pastor Sam Merigala understands this concern. He clarifies that the prosperity gospel, which suggests God is solely interested in making you healthy, rich, and comfortable because you are His child, is not found anywhere in the Bible. It is, in truth, a coldhearted materialism cloaked in religious garb, selectively using Bible verses to fit a "name-it-and-claim-it" theory, but it fundamentally does not love God. Instead, it seeks to use God for selfish, even infantile, purposes. Where, Pastor Sam Merigala asks, does the prosperity gospel echo the clear message of Philippians 3:7-11, which proclaims a willingness to lose everything, to be stripped bare, and still rejoice because one has gained Christ and is satisfied in His love? That, my friends, is the true Gospel, and that is what genuine prosperity looks like.

The rewards God offers us in Proverbs chapter 3 are indeed good, and He will dispense them to His wise children as He sees fit. However, the life of every believer is complex. God also sends us pain. Verses 11 and 12 clearly state that God disciplines us. He sends both earthly blessings and earthly sorrows. Consider our Lord Jesus Himself; He suffered on the cross and then prospered in the resurrection. The resurrection, is the ultimate prosperity you will desire when your earthly health inevitably fails. If your life's narrative is confined only to the blessings of the here and now, you are indeed in trouble, because even barns filled with plenty and vats bursting with wine will eventually run dry. But if your life in this world is merely the title page to your eternal story, and God graciously gives you some earthly barns and vats for the present, that is well and good. Just ensure that you set your heart not on the gift, which will surely fail you, but on the Giver, who will never, ever fail you. As C. S. Lewis wisely counseled, God withholds settled happiness and security by the very nature of the world, not to deprive us, but to prevent us from resting our hearts in this world and hindering our return to Him. Instead, He scatters joy, pleasure, and merriment, providing "pleasant inns" to refresh us on the journey, but never encouraging us to mistake them for our true eternal home.

The very heart of this chapter, these key verses often claimed by God’s people, are Proverbs 3:5-6, where the Lord promises direction for our lives. This promise has never failed those who have truly obeyed the conditions God has laid down in verses 1-12. As it says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths". Our Lord keeps His promises when we obey His precepts, because our obedience prepares our hearts to receive and genuinely enjoy all that He has meticulously planned for us.

Let us then consider the Conditions to Meet for receiving God's guidance, as revealed in Proverbs 3:1-12:

First, we must learn God’s truth (vv. 1-4). Pastor Sam beautifully expounds on Proverbs 3:1-2: “My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you”. This passage is organized around two profound themes: the shalom God gives and the trust God demands. The wise Father here links His counsel with compelling incentives. He isn't simply commanding, "Do this because I say so." Rather, He declares, "Do this because it will truly help you!". This, my friends, is the very gospel for us sinners whom God treats as His own dear children, guiding us, counseling us, urging us on, and showering us with blessings. How does He desire to help us? He gives us His shalom.

"Pay attention," the Father is saying. "Pay attention to Me. You are going to pay attention to something, but only My teaching will lead you into shalom - into wholeness, into true peace". God is not demanding that we be inherently smart. In fact, if we are "wise in our own eyes," that itself is a significant problem (v. 7). It’s perfectly acceptable to feel incompetent, but we must pay attention to His gospel and its profound implications - to His teaching and His commandments. In the cacophony of our modern culture, what are you truly listening to? And is it genuinely working for you? Or is it a mere mirage, luring you with false promises, always just out of reach? As Mark Rutherford observed, "If your religion doesn’t help you, it is no religion for you; you had better be without it". Whatever you are giving your attention to, is it leading you into peace? Be honest about that. If it is not helping you, there is a reason. Look more closely, drill down there. Is it truly the Father’s teaching you are heeding, or are you paying more attention to some popular but ultimately defunct theory that simply cannot deliver?

The word "keep" in verse 1 means more than just to obey; it signifies to "guard, to maintain vigilance". "Let your heart guard my commandments." Your heart is your spiritual security system, and every single day, thieves are attempting to rob you of length of days, years of life, and peace. Elsewhere, the Bible calls these thieves "idols." What are they? They are merely obsolete ideas that cannot help because they are man-made. Our own hearts are factories for them. For instance, ask yourself, “What life scenario will make me finally say, ‘I have arrived’?” What does "arrival" truly look like to you? Whatever that scenario may be, if Christ is not the life-giving center, your heart has already been penetrated by a life-robbing idol. When we forget Christ, we are not freed; instead, we submit to false teachings that ultimately fill our lives with deep regret. If you believe your career will bring your "arrival," you can never truly relax, for you are literally working for your salvation. If you think your family will "make" your existence complete, your "arrival" is precarious, because your children will, at times, break your heart. However you define your shalom, if it is not Christ, then it is an idol, demanding your all but giving nothing. If you obey it, it will surely break its promises. If you fail to obey it, it will punish you. Our problem, then, is not merely our wandering wills, but our false beliefs. Our minds give credit to lies.

Therefore, our Father lovingly instructs us, “Stay alert to what you’re believing moment by moment. My teaching alone can make you lie down in green pastures and beside still waters. Pay attention to the gospel of the finished work of Christ for sinners. If you’ll guard my teaching with your heart, you will experience it as your true shalom”. Furthermore, the sermon reminds us, "Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you; bind them around your neck; write them on the tablet of your heart. So you will find favor and good success in the sight of God and man" (Proverbs 3:3, 4). The will of God is revealed in the Word of God, and the only way to know His will is to study His Word and obey it. As we receive the Word into our hearts, we experience growth in godly character, so that mercy and truth become beautiful ornaments in our lives. It’s not enough for believers to merely carry the Bible in their hands; they must allow the Holy Spirit to inscribe it upon their hearts. Obedience to the Word can indeed add years to your life and, more importantly, life to your years.

"Steadfast love and faithfulness" are the key words here, for they describe God Himself (Exodus 34:6). What are we ultimately counting on about God? We are staking everything on God’s unwavering steadfast love and faithfulness to us forever through Christ, because He has solemnly promised to be so. The sage is telling us, “You know that’s who God is. He told you so in the Bible. Now, let who God is truly change you”. Pastor Sam Merigala highlights a crucial point here: so much of what is often called "American religion" is not truly about who God is. It makes us the immovable center around which God is expected to orbit. It’s not about us changing, repenting, and adjusting to who God is, but rather about God making us feel better about ourselves without demanding any real change. But the truth is, God is who He is so that we can become more like Him! And isn't that truly what we deeply desire? A person characterized by steadfast love and faithfulness can be utterly trusted. You have nothing to fear from such a person; you have everything to admire, for God is truly in that person. And He yearns to make you more and more like Himself. So many have been let down by those claiming to be Christians, losing their faith because they did not see the reality of God reflected in God’s people. They saw people wearing crosses but not binding steadfast love and faithfulness around their own necks. The fraudulence of that kind of hypocrisy rightly stirs anger. So the Father here, speaking to His children, says, “My steadfast love and faithfulness to sinners - let that be your persona. Wear that reality openly in public, because it’s who Jesus is. I want you to be like Him, right out in the open, for other sinners to see and to find hope”. When people truly see Jesus in us, we find favor and good success. There is no other way, and truly, we would not want it any other way. This, then, is the shalom God gives - both personal (vv. 1, 2) and social (vv. 3, 4). How do we reach this place?

Second, we must obey God’s will (vv. 5-8). Here we find the most famous verses in Proverbs: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths" (Proverbs 3:5, 6 ESV). These verses declare that our confidence rests not in some impersonal ethic, but in the living Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And the kind of trust He both deserves and demands is a wholehearted trust: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart”. Pastor Sam Merigala shares a vivid illustration of his seminary professor's father crossing the frozen Susquehanna River. The father was crawling gingerly, unsure of the ice's thickness, when a local man came speeding across the ice in a wagon with four horses, knowing its strength. Too many Christians, he observes, are like the cautious man, creeping along halfheartedly. But a wholehearted Christian changes the atmosphere for everyone around.

The Hebrew verb translated as "trust" is akin to an Arabic verb meaning to throw oneself down on one's face, to lie down spread-eagle in complete reliance - to do a "belly-flop on God" with all our sin, all our failure, and all our fears. We stake everything on the gospel promises of God. If God fails us, we are damned. If God comes through, we are saved forever. Real trust is that blunt, that daring, and that beautifully simple. A. W. Tozer rightly declared that "Pseudo-faith always arranges a way out to serve in case God fails it. Real faith knows only one way and gladly allows itself to be stripped of any second way or makeshift substitutes. For true faith, it is either God or total collapse". And since the dawn of humanity, God has never failed a single soul who truly trusted Him. I call you today, to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ with every part of you that shames you, terrifies you, and holds you back. Let your full weight down on Him. He will never fail anyone who trusts Him radically, for He is no pseudo-Savior; He is real, He is all He claims to be, and He offers His total Self to you today on terms of total grace. What He deserves and demands is your total trust in the love, mercy, and wisdom of God in Christ alone. The promise, “He shall direct your paths” (v. 6 NKJV), is contingent upon our obedience to the Lord. We must trust Him with all our hearts and obey Him in all our ways, which signifies a total commitment to Him, as articulated in Romans 12:1-2.

How then can we discern if our trust is truly wholehearted? None of us desires to be halfhearted. When we were children, none of us aspired to be wishy-washy; we wanted to be engineers, fighter pilots, doctors, or lawyers. And now, as followers of Christ, we desire to be all-out for Him! So, let us examine ourselves with these three diagnostics for wholehearted trust in the Lord:

1. Do you let the Bible overrule your own thinking? Verse 5 says, “Do not lean on your own understanding.” Do you merely agree with the Bible, or do you truly obey it? If you only agree, your response is coincidence, merely your cultural prejudices happening to align with Scripture. But what do you do when the Bible contradicts what you want to be true? If you search the Bible for excuses to do what you want anyway, you have, in fact, rejected God. But if you trust the Lord, you will allow the Bible to challenge your most cherished thoughts and feelings. The glorious truth is, the Lord cares about your questions and problems; He desires to speak into your life in ways that will profoundly help you. If you trust Him wholeheartedly, you will let Him teach you.
2. Do you believe someone somewhere without Jesus will still go to Heaven? Do people truly need Jesus to find peace with God, or is it acceptable to God if they are simply sincere, well-meaning individuals? If you believe this, Pastor Sam Merigala suggests you might be putting yourself into that scenario because you are unsure about Jesus. You are hoping Jesus will flatter you, not trusting Him to save you. But if you trust the Lord entirely, you will also trust Him exclusively, as your only Savior, and indeed, as anyone’s only Savior.
3. When was the last time you took a risk to obey Christ? When was the last time you consciously diminished your future - socially, financially, professionally - for His sake? When did your life conspicuously differ from the life of someone who does not trust Jesus at all? If you never surprise an unbelieving friend with your sacrifices for Christ, it’s probably because you are living for the same earthly payoff they are. But if you trust the Lord entirely, you will trust Him exhaustively, across the whole spectrum of your life. You will not be a fragmented person, nor will you think piecemeal. You will, as verse 6 literally translates, “know Him” in all your ways. Then, He faithfully promises to direct the course of your life straight to where He wants you to go. “He will make straight your paths” is a magnificent assurance. If you allow Jesus to rule as Lord over the entirety of your life, He will so deeply enter into your story and so perfectly make straight your paths that all things will ultimately work together for your good. Will you trust Him with all your heart?

Here, then, is the "price" - if we can even call it that - the price we pay to walk with God in a way that truly helps us: "Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones" (Proverbs 3:7, 8 ESV). The Father is warning us against a spirit of self-assurance, which is the antithesis of trust in the Lord, and it brings no healing or refreshment. The danger, of course, is that we lean on our own understanding and thereby miss God’s perfect will. This warning does not suggest that God’s children should "turn off their brains" or ignore their intelligence and common sense. It simply cautions us not to depend solely on our own wisdom and experience, or even the wisdom and experience of others. Abraham made this mistake when he went to Egypt, and Joshua did so when he attacked Ai. When we become “wise in [our] own eyes” (Prov. 3:7), we are indeed heading for trouble. “There is more hope for a fool than for him” (Proverbs 26:12). A spirit of self-assurance will destroy you and everyone you love; it cannot work. The universe will not cooperate with our arrogant self-centeredness. But fearing the Lord and turning away from evil - calling sin sin and turning from it - that, my friends, is true healing and refreshment!. Notice this profound irony: the more you fear the Lord, the less you will fear man. The more you depend on the Lord, the more independent you will truly be. The more you resemble Christ, the more of a unique individual you will become. The more you obey Him, the freer, the more at liberty, you will be. Life will genuinely work for you, bringing healing and refreshment.

"Fear the Lord and turn away from evil." Yes, it’s a simple thing to articulate, but we need to be continually reminded because it is so radical! Martin Luther’s first of 95 Theses declared, “Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, in saying, ‘Repent,’ intended that the whole life of believers should be repentance”. You probably have a to-do list for the coming week. But here are the priorities God wants at the very top of your list in terms of urgency: #1: Fear the Lord. #2: Turn away from evil. #3: As time permits, breathe. That is the urgency of your life this week. It will add greatness to your life; it will add life to your life; it will save you from a wasted life. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, boldly stated, "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen, such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of God upon earth". If you desire for your life to truly count, now and forever, for Christ, here is all you need to do: Fear the Lord. Turn away from evil. Do that alone, and your life will be magnificent.

Third, we must share God’s blessings (vv. 9-10). “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine” (Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV). There is no such thing as separate "spiritual" and "material" realms in the Christian life, for everything comes from God and belongs to God. The Old Testament Jews brought the firstlings of their flocks and the firstfruits of their fields, acknowledging His goodness and sovereignty. The New Testament parallel is clear in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you”.

Pastor Sam Merigala titles this section "Wisdom at the Extremes of Life," specifically "Wisdom in Plenty". Here we are at the two opposite extremes of life - when the good times roll and when hardship strikes. When life is sweet, trusting God with all our hearts can feel unnecessary. When life is bitter, it can feel impossible. We need God's wisdom for both seasons, for those times we are on top and for those times when nothing is going right. God is with us in both, offering a wisdom that makes a positive, eternal difference. Earlier in Proverbs 3, God calls us to trust Him wholeheartedly (v. 5). Now, in Proverbs 3:9-12, He leads us to trust Him wholeheartedly when we are pushed to these two opposite edges of our lives - plenty and pain.

The sage’s counsel in verse 9 is, “Honor the LORD with your wealth,” accompanied by an incentive in verse 10. The Hebrew verb translated "honor" means "to treat the Lord as weighty". The root of the verb means "to be heavy," similar to how we might say a person "carries social weight" today. Money, in our culture, often communicates prestige, rank, and importance. The sad truth is, we often honor ourselves with our money, and the Lord gets second-best if He’s lucky. But wisdom transforms us! Wisdom instructs us to “Make the Lord famous and prominent by means of your wealth. Use your money to increase his prestige in your world”. Why is using our money for Christ wise? Because the more we use our money for self-importance, the more foolish we appear. The pretense, the love of appearances, the overreaching - these actions stem from money's almost mystical power over us. Yet, how many ancient castles are still inhabited by the families who built them? Self-importance is fundamentally unsustainable. But the more we heap prestige upon Jesus through our money, the more weighty, significant, and relevant we become. We become people of substance; we impact history. That is the glorious irony of wisdom.

There's also a Hebrew verb for the opposite of honoring: "to make light of, to regard as trifling and frivolous". As God observes your financial priorities, should He consider Himself honored or slighted, even insulted? Someone always receives the honor of first place in your monthly budget. Who holds that esteemed position?. If God grants revival in our time - and we continually pray for revival - God will be restored to His rightful place of honor in every area of our lives. This word in verse 9, translated “honor,” is the Old Testament word for glory. Don’t we pray, “Show us your glory” (Exodus 33:18)? That is a profoundly meaningful prayer. The glory of God is the very reason you and I are on this planet; it is why the planet itself exists; it is why everything is here! What is God accomplishing in all of this? He is displaying His glory, so that we might thrill over Him forever. The glory of God is the central, overarching theme of the entire Bible. Everything wrong with the world today can be traced back to this single "mega-sin" - the trivializing of God. And that, my friends, is ultimate folly. Life simply cannot work when we shut out the glory of God and treat the imposter called "Self" as weighty. How liberating it is to wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to honoring God with all we possess, including our financial resources!

Pastor Sam Merigala outlines three crucial points to understand about Proverbs 3:9-10:

1. The ESV says, “Honor the LORD with your wealth.” However, the NASB offers a more literal translation: “Honor the LORD from your wealth”. This distinction is vital. One might say, “I’m honoring the Lord when I pay my light bill on time and take my wife out to dinner, because all my money belongs to God, and I’m using it for good things.” While these are not inherently bad actions, this approach might allow one to “honor the Lord” with their wealth without ever giving a dime away. Proverbs 3:9 is actually saying, “Honor the LORD from your wealth.” This means He receives a cut from our wealth; we intentionally part with some of our money for His sake, giving it away for His purposes.
2. The next line clarifies how we truly honor the Lord from our wealth: “…and with the firstfruits of all your produce”. The firstfruits represented the very best of the harvest (Numbers 18:12, 13). Exodus 23:19 commands, “The best of the firstfruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the LORD your God”. Therefore, to honor the Lord from our wealth means giving Him our first and our best. He comes first in our budgets - even ahead of taxes.
3. We truly honor the Lord from our wealth when we calculate our giving not from the net but from the gross, because the verse states, “from all your produce,” meaning all our income. We can dishonor God not only by giving nothing but also by giving Him the leftovers after we’ve taken care of ourselves in our monthly budgets. Our giving to the Lord can then become like a mere tip thrown on a table. But we truly honor Him by giving Him the first cut from our gross income.

How can people of wisdom be tightfisted? God our Father is generously sharing His resources with us to expand the family business - the glorious gospel enterprise. He is entrusting His very own money into our care, and we are investing His funds for His greater glory in the world today. He has made us His investment brokers. We invest, for example, 10 percent as a tithe, and He effectively pays us a 90 percent commission! He is indeed such a good boss to work for. God loves to give even more to His children who grasp the true purpose of money and handle it wisely: “…then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine” (Proverbs 3:10). God’s capacity to give far, far exceeds our capacity to receive. Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38). He does not mean, “Give money to God, and he’ll make you rich.” If that were the message, the Lord would not be honored; He would be used. Jesus is not stirring up our greed. What then does He mean? He means, as God’s people have joyously experienced throughout history, that if you invest for His sake, He will give you more to invest for His sake. Matthew Henry, the venerable Puritan scholar, remarked about verse 10: "God will bless you with an increase of that which is for use, not for show, for giving away, not for hoarding. Those who do good with what they have shall have more to do more good with". If you truly love Jesus, nothing could make you happier than to do more good for His sake! Why? Because this is how He treated you: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Someone like that, don’t you agree, should be honored? If we do not faithfully give to the Lord, we do not truly trust Him. Our tithes and offerings are not "payment" for His blessings; rather, they are tangible evidence of our faith and obedience. Christian industrialist R. G. LeTourneau wisely stated, “If you give because it pays, it won’t pay”. Giving is a profound heart preparation for what God desires to speak to us and accomplish through us. For, as Matthew 6:21 reminds us, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.

Our fourth responsibility is to submit to God’s chastening (Prov. 3:11-12). “My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in” (Proverbs 3:11-12 NIV). This section is "Wisdom in Pain". When life is bitter, trusting God with all our hearts often feels impossible. When the bad times and hard times seem to multiply, honesty compels us to confront only two possibilities about God: Either God loves us passionately, or God despises us. It's one or the other. And we all have moments when it profoundly feels as though God despises us. That is why we are eternally thankful for the opening words in verse 11: “My son…” Do you hear the profound tenderness in those words? A wise Father is counseling the son He deeply loves. What is He saying about the hard times? Two vital things:

1. When we suffer, it isn’t God angrily taking from us; it is God lovingly reinvesting in us. Suffering often feels like anger, like loss, like God has abandoned us. But consider the heroes of faith in Hebrews chapter 11; they suffered immensely. Theirs was no "country club religion." They trusted God with all their hearts, and some were tortured, killed, and terribly mistreated. Was God angry with them? No! He commended them (Hebrews 11:2, 6, 39). That is why the Scripture says, “God is not ashamed to be called their God” (Hebrews 11:16). He was proud of them! To use the language of Proverbs 3:12, He delighted in them. When you are suffering, here is what you must remember: your sufferings are not evidence against you, nor are they evidence against God. It is quite the opposite! Your sufferings are proof that God your Father cherishes you. As Hebrews 12:7 declares, quoting these very verses, “God is treating you as sons.” Or as William Cowper beautifully penned, “Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face”. If you are in Christ and you are suffering, God does not hate you. If He did, He would not even bother with you. The truth you absolutely need to know is this: You are a person of destiny, your greatness has already been won for you by Christ at His cross, and now God is preparing you with some exquisite finishing touches, each one a masterstroke. If you could remove suffering not only from your own life but from the entire world, you would not improve it. You would rob yourself of significance; you would create a world devoid of the love of God. It would be a world where Jesus Himself could not suffer and die for your or anyone’s sins. Perhaps your own earthly father did not love you enough to discipline you, and now you feel that certain gaps were never filled in your character. You may not like the person you are. But changing yourself is not easy. Do not worry about it! You have a perfect Father in God, and He will help you along, step by precious step.

2. Our wise pathway through suffering is to accept it and wait while God fulfills His divine purpose. If you are suffering right now, you are likely being tempted in two opposite ways, both present in verse 11: either to despise the Lord’s discipline, which is the active response of anger, or to be weary of His reproof, which is the passive response of despair. What is your only path forward? The Bible says, “[Be] trained by it” (Hebrews 12:11). We derive our modern word "gymnasium" from that Greek word! Through our sufferings, God has us "working out." Is that truly so bad? Jesus Himself suffered: “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered” (Hebrews 5:8). The Bible tells us that Jesus sympathizes with our weaknesses, because He was tempted in the same ways we are, yet He did not sin. He neither lashed back at the Father nor did He go limp (Hebrews 4:15). So we have a Friend in Jesus who is supremely qualified to stand before God on our behalf, but who is also deeply sympathetic with us because He knows precisely how it feels. So the Bible instructs us: “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). What should you ask for as you kneel there at the throne of grace? In Philippians 3:10, Paul essentially said, “I want to know Christ, and the power of his resurrection, and I want to share in the fellowship of his sufferings”. Paul gazed at the cross, he saw Jesus shedding His lifeblood for sinners, and Paul’s heart declared, “There is the wealth I desire! There is the suffering I trust!”. Jesus is your ultimate treasure. Jesus is your full approval. Will you believe that, even at this extreme of life where you find yourself right now? Chastening is an integral part of God’s plan to help His sons and daughters mature in godly character (Hebrews 12:1-11). God chastens us not as a judge punishes a criminal, but as a loving parent disciplines a cherished child. He acts in perfect love, and His ultimate purpose is that we might become “partakers of his holiness” (Hebrews 12:10). Sometimes He chastens because we have rebelled and need to repent; other times, He chastens to keep us from sinning and to prepare us for His special blessing. No matter how much the experience may hurt us, it will never truly harm us, because God always chastens in perfect love (Deuteronomy 8:2-5).

Finally, let us consider the Blessings to Enjoy (vv. 13-35). If we trust and obey our Father, He will lovingly direct our path into the abundant blessings He has already planned for us.

The first of these blessings is the true wealth that comes from wisdom (vv. 13-18). "Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold. She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her; those who hold her fast are called blessed" (Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV). Some people, tragically, know the price of everything but the value of nothing, leading them to unwise choices and ultimately shoddy outcomes. Pastor Sam Merigala underscores why wisdom matters and what it creates. Wisdom matters, according to verses 13-26, because it is the open secret of the universe. It's not a private option to take or leave; wisdom is how life truly works. We might disregard it for a time and seem to get away with it, because God designed everything so well. But we all desire the final chapter of our stories to be the very best, do we not? So, wisdom profoundly matters.

Wisdom also creates something, according to verses 27-35. Wisdom creates a vibrant culture of life amidst this culture of death that pervades our world. Wisdom is a community experience, a shared experience of life in its fullness. What every city desperately needs is more churches where sinners find safety and people can truly live again, because the wisdom of Jesus reigns supreme in those churches. The only biblical strategy for world redemption - the church - is unfortunately undervalued even by some of God’s own people. But God desires to lead us into that promised land, and Proverbs chapter 3 shows us the way. It demands more than good intentions, even more than mere biblical doctrine. It requires the wisdom of God, embodied more and more in our churches, so that people can truly see how wonderful life in Christ really is. Then, they can join us and cease dying and begin living, even forever! So much is at stake in the quality of our churches.

The sage tells us three things in verses 13-26. First, wisdom enriches everyone who finds it (vv. 13-18). The word “blessed” marks the beginning and end of this paragraph. The key, easily overlooked, lies in the two small words “the one” in verse 13: “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom”. This is the Hebrew ’adam, referring to generic "man," a human being, signifying that wisdom is available to everyone. There exists both common grace and special grace. Common grace is the universal goodness God showers upon the human race. Jesus taught that God “makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matthew 5:45). God generously bestows many gifts upon many people in this world. All that is required for anyone to benefit from the wisdom of common grace is to rise up and seek it: “Blessed is the one, the anyone, who gets up and goes searching for wisdom until he finds it”. Common grace, though common, is still God’s grace. Wherever you observe skill and expertise, you are witnessing a gift from God. John Calvin understood this profoundly, asserting that even in secular writers, the admirable light of truth should teach us that the human mind, though fallen, is still adorned with God’s excellent gifts.

Where we often stumble with God’s gifts is in equating them with money. Pastor Sam Merigala points out, “…for the gain from [wisdom] is better than gain from silver and her profit better than gold” (v. 14). The sage counsels us, “Don’t aim at money. If you need money, aim at wisdom and you’ll acquire the money that’s truly right for you”. That is why wisdom is “more precious than jewels” (v. 15). Wisdom is the skill of living life well. Money is not. Money can put food on the table, but wisdom brings laughter around that table. Money can buy a house, but wisdom makes it a home. Money can buy a woman jewelry, but wisdom wins her heart. It is good to have the things money can buy, provided you never lose the things money cannot buy. What good is an expensive house if there is no happy home within it?. Happiness, pleasantness, and peace are not the guaranteed by-products of financial success, but they are guaranteed to the person who lives by God’s wisdom. All the ways of wisdom are “pleasantness” (v. 17). You cannot say that about money. We can tragically wreck our lives by settling for the wisdom that simply makes us money when God is offering us the profound wisdom that leads us to “a tree of life” (v. 18). And that is no mere common grace! That tree of life nourishes our hearts with the special grace of Jesus Christ. He died on the cross for geniuses who excel in earthly skills but are utterly clueless about real life. Do not stop short. Do not settle for money. If you appreciate money, silver, gold, and jewels, remember that they are mere metaphors for the life-giving special grace of Christ Himself.

A second blessing is harmony with God’s creation (Prov. 3:19-20). "The Lord by wisdom founded the earth; by understanding he established the heavens; by his knowledge the deeps broke open, and the clouds drop down the dew" (Proverbs 3:19-20 ESV). Wisdom matters deeply to God, who employs it as His divine tool in both creation and providence. We are often told that the universe merely happened, that we emerged out of primordial goo by sheer luck. But the truth, brothers and sisters, is that God created all things, and the tool He used was His own infinite wisdom - and it was all He needed! “The LORD by wisdom founded the earth”. At this very moment, He sustains all things - note the present tense “drop down” in verse 20 - even the dewdrops, by His wisdom. Pastor Sam Merigala vividly illustrates this with a reflection from Dr. John Piper on the marvel of rain, describing how billions of pounds of water are lifted from the Mediterranean, desalinated, carried hundreds of miles, and then gently "dribbled" down as life-giving rain, not dumped, which would crush the crops. The profound point is, if God by His wisdom can accomplish such a wonder in nature, what magnificent things will He accomplish by His wisdom within you?

We are surrounded and sustained by God’s wisdom, though we often barely comprehend it. C. S. Lewis explained that "At present we are on the outside of the world, the wrong side of the door... But... some day, God willing, we shall get in". Jesus died precisely to get us in! But even now, we can perceive creation for what it truly is - God’s ingenious wisdom. Jonathan Edwards taught us a godly attitude toward life, emphasizing that "True virtue most essentially consists in a benevolence to Being in general," a general goodwill and appreciation for all God has made. A crabby negativism often stems from focusing solely on our outsiderness, like living in a foreign country and feeling lost without understanding the language. We are like that in God’s amazing creation, but God is tirelessly translating His wisdom for us, supremely in Christ. That wisdom is the true foundation and meaning of the universe. He is urgently calling us to take it to heart and make it our own, as outsiders who place our ultimate hope in Him. The person who walks according to God’s wisdom can truly sing, “This is my Father’s world,” and genuinely mean it. The wisdom of God brought everything into being, including what science calls “the laws of nature.” Obey these laws and creation will work with you; disobey them and creation will work against you. People in the so-called "New Age" movement strive to be "at one" with creation, but they are doomed to fail because they reject the wisdom of God. Christians who live by God’s wisdom, however, will be good stewards of His creation and will use His gifts for His glory.

A third blessing is the Father’s providential care (3:21-26). "My son, do not lose sight of these - keep sound wisdom and discretion, and they will be life for your soul and adornment for your neck. Then you will walk on your way securely, and your foot will not stumble. If you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the ruin of the wicked, when it comes, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being caught" (Proverbs 3:21-26 ESV). This paragraph speaks directly to our personal safety. As we grow in wisdom, God protects us from the landmines that sin has hidden in His world. The Lord Himself is with us. That is how verse 26 can be translated. When we read, “the LORD will be your confidence,” it means He will be our companion. An alternative translation of the Hebrew is, “The LORD will be at your side”. When the Apostle Paul suffered, the Lord was indeed at his side: “At my first defense no one came to stand by me, but all deserted me… But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me” (2 Timothy 4:16, 17). The longer you and I live, the more stories we accumulate of the Lord standing at our side, strengthening us. We are not trusting wisdom as some impersonal cosmic force; we are trusting the living Christ to remain close moment by moment, because He has promised, “I will be at your side”.

Because God directs our path, He is perfectly able to protect our path. The Lord is not obligated to protect His children when they willfully go their own way; that is merely tempting Him, and that is a dangerous thing to do. An angry unbeliever once asked a pastor why God didn’t stop a terrible war, and the pastor quietly replied, “He doesn’t stop it because He didn’t start it.” It was started by people who rejected God’s wisdom and pursued their own selfish plans. When you surrender yourself entirely to God, every part of your body belongs to Him and will be protected by Him. He will help you guard your eyes from wandering, your neck from turning your face away from God’s path, your feet walking on the right path, and even your backbone safe while you’re sleeping. If something frightening suddenly occurs, you will not be afraid, because the Lord Himself is protecting you. How we sleep, in fact, is sometimes evidence of how deeply we trust the Lord.

Our fourth blessing is a positive relationship with others (Prov. 3:27-35). "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act. Do not say to your neighbor, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you” - when you already have it with you. Do not plot harm against your neighbor, who lives trustfully near you. Do not accuse anyone for no reason - when they have done you no harm. Do not envy the violent or choose any of their ways. For the Lord detests the perverse but takes the upright into his confidence. The Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the righteous. He mocks proud mockers but shows favor to the humble and oppressed. The wise inherit honor, but fools get only shame" (Proverbs 3:27-35 NIV). This is the fourth blessing a believer enjoys when walking in the wisdom of God. Wise Christians will be generous to their neighbors and live peaceably with them, striving to avoid unnecessary disagreements (Romans 12:18). After all, if we truly love God, we will love our neighbor as we would desire them to love us. On the other hand, if a neighbor is perverse and scoffs at our faith, the Lord will guide us in allowing our light to shine and His love to be demonstrated, so that we will influence them, but they will not lead us astray. Sometimes it requires immense patience, prayer, and wisdom to rightly relate to people who may not want Christians in their neighborhood, but perhaps that is precisely why God placed us there. It is entirely possible to cultivate a godly home amidst an ungodly neighborhood, for God “blesses the home of the righteous” (v. 33 NIV). We are the salt of the earth and the light of the world, and one dedicated Christian in a neighborhood can make a profound difference and be a powerful witness for the Lord.

In verses 27-35, the sage illuminates what wisdom creates here in God’s magnificent world, which has been hijacked by human stupidity and the grip of death. But the risen Jesus is pouring out His Spirit to create a new culture of life, which He calls the Church. Pastor Sam Merigala makes three powerful points about this new culture of life:

1. Help your needy neighbor (vv. 27-28). In a culture of life, people help each other as much as they possibly can. We cannot perform the impossible, nor can we give what we do not possess. But "when it is in our power to do it, when we have it with us," wisdom instructs us: “Give it away”. The grace of Jesus taught the Apostle Paul to say, “I am a debtor” (Romans 1:14). He did not see himself as a demanding creditor but as one indebted, and he won a hearing by lovingly treating people as God had graciously loved him. Verse 27 says, “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due.” The ESV margin offers an alternative translation: “Do not withhold good from its owners”. If you have good you can do for someone, legally you may own it, but morally, they own it. The state has no right to compel your generosity, and no one can walk into your home and help themselves to your possessions. The Bible instructs them, “You shall not steal” (Exodus 20:15). But what the Bible says to you is, “You shall not withhold”. We sin against each other not only by the bad things we do but also by the beautiful things we withhold. Withheld love is a life-depleting sin. It is a sin to tell ourselves, “I’m not doing anybody any harm.” The crucial question is, what good are you withholding? Jesus withheld no good thing from you. Now we understand how to build a culture of life, by His divine power. A culture of life is one where people openly and eagerly love each other with the love of Jesus. Opportunities abound all around us to breathe life into more people. We cannot do everything, but we can do something, for His sake. If we have the ability, they have the ownership. And we owe it today, not tomorrow.
2. Protect your innocent neighbor (vv. 29-30). In a culture of life, people protect each other. The sage makes this positive point through negative prohibitions: “Do not plan evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly beside you. Do not contend with a man for no reason, when he has done you no harm”. Trust is the essential glue that binds community together. What do a husband and wife, for example, most need from each other? Trust. The Lord calls us to trust Him unreservedly (v. 5), because trust is the very platform upon which a genuine relationship can flourish. We all know the pain of trusting someone only for them to turn against us, precisely because trust is so profound. So what does wisdom teach us here? Negatively, do not be a faultfinding, critical person, eager to pounce on some well-meaning individual with a "Gotcha!" That creates a culture of death. But Heaven has descended to us through Christ! He defended us when we deserved the opposite. Therefore, let us stand up for our innocent neighbors. That is wisdom, creating a culture of safety in a world steeped in attack.
3. Avoid your violent neighbor (vv. 31-35). In a culture of life, the wise maintain their distance from the violent: “Do not envy a man of violence and do not choose any of his ways, for the devious person is an abomination to the LORD, but the upright are in his confidence” (Proverbs 3:31, 32). In our current reality, violent people often succeed, tempting us to envy them. This phenomenon begins early, with the playground bully who is also popular. People fear and envy the violent, leading to the violent often running the world. God declares in verse 32, “That’s an abomination” - in other words, it turns God’s stomach. But God delights in defending those whom no one else defends. He is actively involved in this world; He is not standing aloof, He is no bystander or mere spectator. Whatever abuse you may suffer, no one can strip this truth from you: “The upright are in his confidence” (v. 32). Being intimately close to Christ is infinitely better than being on top of the world. He possesses all authority in Heaven and on earth. If they drive you out, the Lord will lovingly take you in. “Toward the scorners he is scornful, but to the humble he gives favor” (v. 34). He is wise enough to know how to subvert subversive people and simultaneously build you up. Humble yourself and trust Him with all your heart. The Septuagint translates verse 34 in a familiar way: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (quoted in James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5). We can and will do that, depending on how we comprehend verse 35, the final verse in this passage: “The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace.” Your everything hinges on how you interpret that verse. Who are “the wise”? Who are the “fools”? Who truly are the winners and losers in this world? Whose stock is rising, whose stock is falling? How you answer that profound question reveals everything about you, because it reveals how you perceive the cross of Jesus. From one perspective, the cross is for losers and failures and weaklings and outsiders. From the opposite, divine perspective, the cross represents everything to be trusted, admired, and embraced. What about you, beloved? How do you feel about that Man hanging on the cross, that Man betrayed, excluded, humiliated by this brilliant world? How you feel about that crucified Man reveals who you are at your deepest core, whether wise or foolish, because in truth, His stock is rising now and forever in resurrection power! Here is the glorious future: the wise in Christ will inherit the honor of Christ. Why not become a part of that eternal reality?

May God bless you as you meditate on these truths, and may His wisdom direct your paths for His glory! Amen.