How to get what you want out of life: Proverbs 8 | A Proverb A Day Challenge

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, everyone, Welcome back to the Amani Talks podcast. You're
here with your host Amani on the podcast where we
discuss our Christian based topics and deepening our relationship with
the Lord. And we are still going through our a
Proverb a Day series. July eighth, we are on Proverbs eighths,
so we have done seven days consecutively. I love you
guys for sticking with me and going through this series
with me. It's been really great to be honest with you.

(00:25):
I burned my hand on the stove, so I have
this little weird thing on my hand. Sorry, it's gross.
Don't look at it. But if you guys need to
catch up on episodes, definitely go back and watch and
listen to the first seven episodes because we are really
trying to go through thirty one days of Proverbs and
get our daily dose of wisdom in the morning. Sorry
that this one is getting out a little bit later,
you guys. I just had a rough morning mentally. Sorry.

(00:49):
That's the cat's food. Usually by now the episode is out,
they get fed eight am eight pm, and usually by
now I'm already editing getting it out a little bit later.
Sorry for that, but I will try to be more
on track tomorrow and the rest of the week. So
let's just go through. And what we do every day
is we read the chapter of Proverbs. We highlight a

(01:11):
key verse that we like, and also a portion of
scripture that really speaks to us, really resonates to us.
I always encourage people to go into comments and to
jot down your key verse, something that you put from
the chapter that you really like, a key takeaway for you.
And yeah, let's get into it all right. Proverbs eight
does not wisdom, cry out and understanding lift up her voice.

(01:32):
She takes her stand on the top of the high hill,
beside the way where the paths meet. She cries out
by the gates at the entry of the city, at
the entrance of the doors, to you, oh men, I call,
and my voice is to the sons of men, Oh
you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of
understanding heart. Listen, for I will speak of excellent things.

(01:54):
And from the opening of my lips will come right things.
For my mouth will speak truth. Wickedness is an abomination
to my lips. All the words of my mouth are
with righteousness. Nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They
are all plain to him who understands, and write to
those who find knowledge. Receive my instruction and not silver,
and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better

(02:17):
than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot
compare with her. I wisdom, dwell with prudence, and find
out knowledge and discretion. The fear of the Lord is
to hate evil, pride and arrogance, and the evil way
and the perverse mouth. I hate. Counsel is mine and
sound wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength by me.

(02:37):
King's reign and rulers decree justice by me, prince's rule,
and nobles all the judges of the earth. I love
those who love me, and those who seek me diligently
will find me. Riches and honor. Are with me enduring
riches and righteousness. My fruit is better than gold, yes,
than fine gold in my revenue than choice silver. I

(02:59):
travel urs the way of righteousness, in the midst of
the paths of justice, that I may cause those who
love me to inherit wealth, that I may feel their treasuries.
The Lord possessed me at the beginning of his way,
before his works of old. I have established from everlasting,
from the beginning before there was ever an earth, when
there were no depths, I was brought forth, when there

(03:21):
were no fountains abounding with water, before the mountains were settled,
before the hills. I was brought forth while as yet
he had not made the earth, or the fields, or
the primal dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens,
I was there when he drew a circle on the
face of the deep, when he established the clouds above,
when he strengthened the fountains of the deep, when he

(03:41):
assigned to the sea its limit so that the waters
would not transgress his command, when he marked out the
foundations of the earth. Then I was beside him as
a master craftsman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing
always before him, rejoicing in his inhabited world. And my
delight was the sons of men. Now, therefore, listen to me,

(04:02):
my children, For blessed are those who keep my ways,
hear instruction, and be wise, and do not disdain it.
Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily
at my gates, waiting for the posts of my doors.
For whoever finds me finds life and obtains favor from
the Lord. But he who sins against me wrongs his
own soul. All those who hate me love death. So

(04:25):
Chapter eight of Proverbs is the first chapter that we've
read so far that is less instruction, less practical, and
more like poetry. The title of Proverbs eight in my
New King James Version Bible says the excellence of wisdom.
So it seems like Solomon was just really writing a
poem describing what wisdom looks like, how wisdom was before

(04:49):
man was created, how the Lord used wisdom to create
the earth, and we saw that in a few chapters back,
So he's pretty much just putting more of a description
to the that idea. I think a key verse for me,
the one that stands out is verse eleven, for wisdom
is better than rubies, and all the things one may

(05:09):
desire cannot be compared with her. And that just reminds
me of how in the beginning we talked about how
Solomon asks the Lord for wisdom above all things. When
he inherited the kingdom. He could have asked for a
great army. He could have asked for wealth. He could
have asked for a wife that was going to love
and support him. He could have asked for a lot

(05:30):
of things, but he acts for wisdom because he knew
from wisdom all those things come forth. It's kind of
like Matthew six point thirty three when the Lord says,
seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you. And that
just reminds me that whatever I'm seeking in life, there
is one source to it. Later on in Psalm thirty seven,
and we'll see, Solomon also writes, delight in the Lord,

(05:51):
and he shall give you the desires of your heart.
So we just have a few reminders of where the
source of everything in our life comes from. And wisdom
is one seeking the Lord as one, delighting the Lord
as one. And to me, those are all the same
things because we know that wisdom and understanding the beginning
of those things is the fear of the Lord. So
the Lord is the source of all these things. You

(06:12):
want riches, you want wealth, you want overflowing your life.
You seek the Lord, you seek his wisdom, you want
the marriage that you feel like the Lord has put
on your heart to have you seek him first. And
I just love that reminder because it lets me know
that I don't have to do anything extra to get
the things out of life that I want. There are
a lot of desires that we have in life, and

(06:33):
sometimes we chase after these singular desires until we feel
like we've achieved them, or at least that's the method
that the world will tell you that you need to adopt.
Right when Shira seven was really big, all the girls
were wearing tight dresses and going to hotel bars by
themselves because she told you to do that. She said,
go to happy hour by yourself, sit at the bar,
order you some food, order a drink, and a guy

(06:53):
will come up to you. So it was like you
have these women going out and having this method in
their heads of Okay, I need to go out, I
need to be I need to do this by myself
if I want to get a husband, if I want
to get a rich man. You know. So, the world
will always tell you that there is a certain method,
a certain trick, a trick up their sleeve that they
can tell you about how you get the things in

(07:14):
life that you want. But the Bible tells us it's
just seeking the Lord, it's just delighting in him, it's
just adopting his wisdom that is free for all you
pray and next for wisdom, and he'll give it to you.
So that takes a lot of pressure and weight off
my shoulders, especially with us being young women and still
not maybe having the things that we want in life.

(07:36):
And it may be frustrating waiting on it, but to
be honest with you, I'd rather wait on my father
to give me something than for me to have to
hustle and get out the mud. So that's always a
good reminder for me. It should definitely be a little
bit of assurance for you that the fear of the Lord,
seeking the Lord, delighting in him is what gets you
all the things in life that you desire, and the

(07:58):
closer that you get to the Lord, the more that
your desires are aligned with his. Because I think a
lot of people think, well, I want a million dollars.
If I see Kim will give me, he will he
give me a million dollars. It doesn't quite work that way.
But if you are truly seeking him, if you're truly
delighting in him, I think a million dollars is the

(08:19):
last thing that you'll probably be asking for, you know,
just for you to have it. And I think the
portion of scripture that I really like are verses twenty
two through thirty one, when Solomon is just going down
and listing all the things that the Lord has done
for the earth when he prepared the heavens. I was
there when he drew a circle on the face of

(08:39):
the deep, when he established the clouds above, and he's
referring to wisdom. Wisdom understanding was always there. It was
there before us. Verse twenty three says, I have been
established from everlasting, from the beginning, before there was ever
an earth. Before the Lord formed the earth, he had knowledge,
wisdom understanding. Of course he did. He's God. You know,

(09:01):
that doesn't surprise me. But I do like how he
just kind of listed off these things. Wisdom was before
all of these things. So it's definitely a very descriptive
thirty six verses. I think it's thirty six verses. Yeah,
it definitely reads like poetry. It definitely has a lot
of I don't know, symbolism that maybe I'm just not

(09:23):
really catching up on. I'm not a big poetry person,
which is why things like proverbs just kind of go
over my head sometimes. You know, I talked about earlier
how I really struggled just reading through Proverbs because I'm
just kind of like, Okay, this is a lot. I'm
more of a practical person, I'm more of a historical

(09:44):
account I'm more of a type a person. I'm not
like the super you know, creative colors. You know, like
that's not really my thing. And I think that Psalms
and Proverbs just kind of give that vibe sometimes, and
it was kind of really hard for me to really
grap but nonetheless, I still enjoyed reading Proverbs eight. You guys,

(10:04):
let me know what you thought about Proverbs eight and
the key verses that you resonated with. And we will
catch up tomorrow where we will read through Proverbs nine
and continue on in our Proverb a Day series. All Right,
love you guys, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye,