Widsom - Crying Out in the Streets

Following wisdom. It’s easier said than done. What is it inside of us that leads us to choose what we know is the wrong path? We hear God’s still small voice telling us exactly what we’re supposed to do, but we keep heading in a different direction. We neglect God’s promise that “whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster” (Prov. 1:33). I know the dread that comes from “not listening”. It’s a safe bet that you do too. It’s a horrible feeling deep inside knowing that you’re out of the will of God, and not just out of His will, but against His will. Along with it comes the fear of “what’s going to happen to me”.

The great irony in all of this is that we choose to be in the bad position of being out of God’s will. The writer of Proverbs describes it like this: “They hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord.” We hate how it feels to be there, and we long for peace and hope, but we keep walking our own chosen way. Therefore, we can’t come back to God and complain because of the evil that will befall us. We can’t say it’s His fault. We can’t ask Him why He didn’t protect us. We willingly walked out of His protection.

It is a thoroughly unsafe place to be when we are outside of the will of God, or, better said, when we have chosen a path outside of the will of God. Even the things that should bring joy, don’t because of the shame, guilt, and fear that resides there.

It’s not worth it. The bad far outweighs any pleasure that might be found in choosing our own way. Trying to be powerful, we become powerless and desperately empty and fearful. There is nothing of any value on the road that is outside of God’s will.

The wonderful promise is that no matter where we are, how long we’ve been there, or how far away we’ve traveled, if we turn “at [God’s] reproof”, He will pour out His Spirit and speak to us, leading us back to the place of safety, security, and blessing. It really is a simple decision. God has made a way to come back and be rescued. He “cries in the street, in the markets [He] raises [His] voice, at the head of the noisy streets [He] cries out: at the entrance of the city gates [He] speaks” (Prov. 1:20-21), trust Him and return home.