The "natural man," who doesn't know God, is described in Proverbs 30 by Agur the Oracle:
I have not learned wisdom, nor have I knowledge of the Holy One. Who has ascended to heaven and come down? Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is his son’s name? Surely you know!
- Proverbs 30:3-4 ESV
This is not good. You and I don't want to be this guy. This guy who has never meditated and contemplated on the God who created the universe. Contemplated him, like every day. Maybe more than once per day. Maybe when we'd rather be watching TV or going shopping. Maybe when we're too tired or if we "don't like reading." There are myriad excuses why we don't read the scripture.
But friends, if we don't spend time in His word, every day, we're missing out on the wisdom of God. And when our daily choices are not informed by His wisdom because it's been forever since we've read through His Word, we fail. Because the wisdom of God controls all good things. When we face daily choices in our lives and do not run to His Word for our choices (I am probably most guilty on this one, but trying to reform), we miss out on His promises. We begin to operate "without God," through our own strength. He is always with us, but I believe my actions reflect my own ideas instead of heavenly wisdom when I don't dive into His Word absolutely every day.
If we contemplate Him every day, the author of Proverbs 3 promises something to us:
Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
Psalm 1:1-3 ESV
https://bible.com/bible/59/psa.1.1-3.ESV
Remember that last sentence.
I had a very personal, tough moment today, and I was about to get angry at someone and tell them off via text. My wife told me not to, even though I was just seethingly angry. It seemed an insignificant thing to get angry at, but for some reason I just lost all kindness in my heart and wanted to hurt the person verbally. The person I was mad at was slow in getting me paid for my work, and if I was back in Jesus' time, it's basically the same as not catching any fish for the day and coming home empty-handed. My wife prayed for me, and she asked God to show me how to "throw the net over the other side and catch fish," referring to in the Gospel story in which Jesus tells Peter to cast the net over the other side of the boat; Peter does it and catches over 100 fish.
The Lord answered her prayer. I felt the Lord tell me that the way to catch many fish (stay secure financially) was this: wisdom. Simply wisdom. I remembered that God has told me this before, and that part of that wisdom was being "slow to anger," which is cited numerous times throughout Proverbs. Later that night, I opened up the book of Proverbs. Sidenote, it is a "wisdom book" of the Bible. Throughout Proverbs, there's a running parable of a beautiful lady, Wisdom, and how following her leads to life. The book is referring to the wisdom of God. I then read the above verse in Proverbs 3, which states that the man who meditates on God's law (or precepts, or words) shall prosper in all he does. He is like a tree planted by the water, always bearing fruit.
And I realized: God was showing me where to cast my net, just as Jesus showed Peter. He was showing me that I would catch many fish ("prospering" in Proverbs 3) if I meditated on His Word day and night. That's the whole idea. He made it easy to understand: gain understanding through praying and reading the Word and worshipping. God will help you cast your net when you maintain your relationship with Him. And this friends, is why I was so emphatic on reading the Word every day at the beginning of this post: because by reading the Word, you will begin to operate through God's power instead of your own, and you will prosper. Not just financially. But emotionally, intellectually, spiritually, etc.
You may think, "What does this prospering look like? Will I get a bunch of money and never need anything from anybody again?" If you are hoping for that, you may be sorely disappointed. God doesn't give things to His children that will make them stop asking him for their daily bread. And it wouldn't be wise for us to stop asking. As Agur the Oracle put it in Proverbs 30:
Two things I ask of you; deny them not to me before I die: Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.
- Proverbs 30:7-9 ESV
See what the author is saying? When we have too much, we tend to stop talking to the Lord and deny that we need Him. When we have too little, we tend to devise evil schemes to get more. The author is (wisely) just asking for his daily bread (feed him just the food that he needs), just as Jesus tells us to ask in the Lord's prayer. The author knows Proverbs 3: when we stay connected to the Lord, we will be taken care of. When we meditate on His law day and night, we will prosper in all that we do. Thank you Jesus for this revelation! God take this and spread it to the people who need to hear it. Thank you Jesus.
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