September 18, 2020, Proverbs 18: 4, “The words of a man’s mouth are deep waters, but the fountains of wisdom is a bubbling brook.” This caught my eye. I am now in a little apartment overlooking Lake Minneola and I watch the waves driven by the wind, continually rolling towards the shore, not far from my front door. One time in Kenya, we lived with a brook in our back yard. I was greatly pregnant with twins and found great peach taking my three under six year olds out to enjoy the brook and its restless flow to somewhere. The writer compares wisdom to a brook.
Where did that brook come from or the waves on the lake? Somewhere up in the mountains for the brook, driven by the wind for the lake. Both are a bit magical, soothing my spirit, continually moving and seeking a destination I cannot see. I can stop and notice and be comforted or they can become part of the scenery. I suspect God’s wisdom is a bit like that. It is continually there within my grasp, coming from an unseen source, going to an unknown destination. I can choose to listen to God’s wisdom or let it be in the background of my life.
Because of the word “but” I suspect our writer is contrasting the bubbling brook of God’s wisdom to the waters of a man’s mouth, coming from a heart that is impacted by the trials of life and the mood of the moment. Are those words sincere or is there a hidden message, a hidden trap, a deception I do not understand because I realize a fellow person is a frail as I am. We do not doubt the truth of the brook. We may fear its strength if it is flowing strongly but we do not suspect duplicity.
Water calms our spirits and speaks of life. I pray as we go about today, we will take time to see the brook of wisdom flowing from God to us, be refreshed, and that our words would be words of encouragement and peace and not traps for another. God’s word is always true, deep, and wise. God’s water brings life. Blessings.
On the Way to Wonder 