3 Powerful Lessons from the Book of Proverbs
By Aaron Joseph Hall
There are many lessons from the book of Proverbs that has impacted my life, three of which I’m going to share with you in this article. If there is any book of the Bible that has had a major impact on me it would be Proverbs. It’s full of practical advice, wisdom, truth, and many examples of what happens should you choose the path of the righteous or what the Bible refers to as a “fool.”
There is much to learn and gain from reading the book of Proverbs. As Christians, the amount of wisdom found within all 31 chapters is incredible.
Proverbs is a book that offers deep insight that will help you navigate life. In fact, it’s worth reading every day. There are 31 chapters, which would make it possible to read one chapter a day for even the longest month.
I want to share 3 powerful lessons from the book of Proverbs that I’ve learned over the years.
Wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord
Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.“
I want to be a wise person, don’t you? According to Proverbs 1:7 wisdom begins with learning to fear the Lord. When we have a healthy, correct view of God it changes everything. I like to think of this as the doorway to knowing God more intimately begins with having a healthy understanding of the fear of the Lord. Wisdom comes from God and to know Him rightly means we can learn to live in His wisdom. So, do you have a right view of God?
Humility is what the Lord requires
Proverbs 11:2, “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.“
Pride is what caused Satan and a third of the angels to fall. God takes arrogance seriously. When I operate with a prideful heart, I’m basically putting a wall up and shutting God out because I become full of myself. Pride is the fastest way to silence God’s voice in your life and ignore His sound wisdom. Pride is dishonoring to the Lord. But when we live in humility, the complete opposite of pride, we can experience God’s blessings and grow in wisdom. Living in pride isn’t living wisely. God requires a humble heart. So, how’s your heart today?
We must learn to guard our hearts
Proverbs 4:23, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.“
From our hearts flow either a heart in pursuit of God or a heart in pursuit of worldly things. We cannot have our foot in both. It’s either-or. Proverbs 4:23 says to “keep your heart” or another way to put it is “guard your heart.” Why? Jesus says in Mark 7:18-22, “…Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach, and is expelled?” (Thus he declared all foods clean.) And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.” From our hearts flow evil things. We must learn to guard it. The world wants to taint you, but God wants to fill you. So, how’s your heart today?
There are many lessons from the book of Proverbs that have made a significant impact on my life. A book could easily be written on the value of learning to take hold of such lessons. Today, it’s my prayer these three lessons encourage you in your walk with the Lord and, at the same time, challenge you to go deeper in your pursuit of our heavenly Father.
Aaron Joseph Hall, the writer behind AaronJosephHall.com and the youth pastor at More 2 Life Ministries, resides in Okeechobee, Florida, with his wife and four children. You can connect with him on Instagram and X.
