“The Lord grows wisdom in a humble heart and teachable mind—so stay true to both.”
Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – July 13, 2022
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. Proverbs 11:2
The mind and the heart require humble preparation before they can receive wisdom and process it properly. Otherwise, without the influence of humility, knowledge promotes prideful thinking and hardens the heart. Information can increase intelligence, but it only creates educated fools—unless a heart of humility rejects any attitude of superiority.
Humility hunts down arrogance and, like a skilled trapper, locks it up in a protective cage of prayer and praise to Christ. It’s very difficult for pride to reproduce itself in an environment full of faith in God and empty of ego and self—it shrivels up for lack of attention. We are positioned to receive wisdom when humility harnesses our heart for Him. When we enter into the yoke of Jesus—His gentleness and meekness rub off on us.
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:29).
Wisdom follows humility like a caboose follows a locomotive, but when the two are reversed the spirit of wisdom stalls on the tracks of trust in self. The ways of the Lord require a regular emptying of earthly desires, so heaven’s wisdom has room to work. Resist the temptation to fill your mind with information without immersing your heart in humility. The idol of being awed by intelligence competes with your reverence for God.
Vain and conceited is the Christian that has an inflated view of his or her self. It is one thing to know truth and it is a whole other level of maturity to responsibly apply and live out truth. The proud are proud of their grasp of truth—while the humble are humbled by the character required to steward wisdom well. Humility erases pride’s illusions of intellectual grandeur and sketches in the need for our Savior Jesus as the backdrop.
“We sometimes tend to think we know all we need to know to answer these kinds of questions—but sometimes our humble hearts can help us more than our proud minds. We never really know enough until we recognize that God alone knows it all” (1 Corinthians 8:1a-3, MSG).
Humility opens the floodgates of God’s faithful release of wisdom. He trusts the humble to use wisdom for His purposes and not their own. Humility can handle wisdom, because it becomes a tool to lead others to trust Jesus. The truly wise understand that the more you grow as a follower of Jesus—the less you really know of what’s known. The Lord grows wisdom in a humble heart and teachable mind—so stay true to both.
“Then you will understand what is right and just and fair—every good path. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul” (Proverbs 2:9-10).
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I pray for a humble heart to receive your wisdom, through Christ’s love and in Jesus’ name, amen.
Application
How can I cultivate a heart of humility that stewards well God’s gift of wisdom?
Related Reading
Proverbs 2:2-10; 7:4; Ecclesiastes 2:3; Isaiah 10:13; Luke 2:40
Worship Resource
Olivia Lane: Woman at The Well
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