Seek Wisdom for Sucess by Diana

As the New Year fast approaches, and our much anticipated celebration of Christ’s birth lies behind, we continue to review the principles Andy Andrews has shared with us in his book, The Travelers Gift, Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success. Today we find our traveler in the courtroom of none other than King Solomon as he is hearing the case of the woman who stole the newborn of another mother because her child had died in the night. I remember the first time I heard the account, The injustice of it angered me- the seeming helplessness of the victim saddened me and the just return of the baby to it’s real mother thrilled me. Even as a child I recognized the incredible wisdom Solomon used in the deciding of this case. A true respect for the word of God was born in me through the re-telling.

Solomon’s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all others- he was wiser than all men and his fame was known in all the surrounding nations. He wrote 3,000 proverbs and 1,005 songs. People came from all over the earth, even from Kings, to hear his wisdom. 1Kings 4:30,31, &34. It is no surprise that Solomon’s advice to traveler David Ponder is: Seek wisdom and the wise counsel of others. This is the same instruction recorded throughout scripture for us.

As an author, there is a constant need to seek the knowledge that will help you write with greater skill, move your plot along, make your point concisely. Fortunately we have a plethora of resources available to guide us. Many books have been written on specific topics. Character development, writing a successful proposal, how to market your newly published title, steps to cure writers block, platform building. We use various search engines, confer with Wikipedia, spend lots of time catching up on Facebook. Busy yes- as successful as we desire to be?

Seek Wisdom. She will be found. It takes discipline to hone our skills. And time set aside for this purpose. Reading this chapter led me into the book of Proverbs and I was once more impressed with the conciseness and the depth Solomon captured, often in just one or two sentences.

Proverbs 14: 23 Hard work pays off; mere talk puts no bread on the table.
Proverbs 14: 7 Escape quickly from the company of fools; they’re a waste of your time, a waste of your words.
Proverbs 15: 2 Knowledge flows like spring water from the wise; fools are leaky faucets, dripping nonsense.
Proverbs 15: 12 Know it alls don’t like being told what to do; they avoid the company of wise men and women.
Proverbs 16: 3 Put God in charge of your work, then what you have planned will take place.
Proverbs 18: 9 Slack habits and sloppy work are as bad as vandalism.
Proverbs 18: 15 Wise men and women are always learning, always listening for fresh insight.
Proverbs 20: 13 Don’t be too fond of sleep; you’ll end up in the poorhouse. Wake up and get up: then there’ll be food on the table.
Proverbs 21: 5 Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind.
Proverbs 22: 29 Observe people who are good at their work--skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they do not take a back seat to anyone.
Proverbs 24: 27 First plant your fields; then build your barn.

With so many wonderful proverbs God gave us through Solomon, on every subject matter, we are well served to seek his advice. After all, Proverbs 14: 24 instructs us-- The wise accumulate wisdom; fools get stupider by the day.

The proverbs shared with you today were from the Message Bible.

May this New Year find us seeking wisdom and direction from the one who is it's source.

From my heart to yours,

Diana