Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord.

What kind of student are you? Maybe it's been a long while since you sat in the role of student, or maybe you're reading this on the bus on your way to school! Whatever the time distance between you and a desk has been, I'm guessing you have a mental category in which you place yourself when it comes to being a student. Maybe you have always struggled to focus at school, even though you love to learn in other settings. Maybe you love one subject but can't stand the other. Maybe you never got a chance to find out what kind of student you really were because real life always seemed to get in the way of just being present in the classroom. Or maybe you were that kid, voracious for new knowledge, first in the door and last to leave.

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Regardless of the kind of student you were or are in the classrooms of your past or present, Scripture calls us to be the latter kind of student when it comes to wisdom's "classroom." In fact, the Bible portrays the idea of "wisdom" as much closer to the teacher we might picture in our minds from our school days than you might initially guess. Wisdom, a key aspect of our spirituality, is often personified in the Bible as "Lady Wisdom," and in Proverbs 8 we learn all about why wisdom's instruction will lead us into the full, abundant life we've been talking about in this series.

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This chapter in Proverbs is titled in my Bible as "Wisdom's call" and is written as though Lady Wisdom is speaking to us, calling us to listen to her and follow in her way. Verse 34 says, "Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway." Just as that eager student might wait outside of the classroom for the doors to open, Lady Wisdom says that those who listen, show up daily to learn from her, eagerly anticipating what she will teach them, are blessed. Verse 35 continues, "For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord." If you want to find life and receive favor, you want to find wisdom, listen to it, and follow in its way.

Which is a lovely sentiment...but...how do I "find" wisdom? Yes, I want the deeper life, and Scripture says that I find life when I find wisdom. So, how do I get there?

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Were we to follow the eager student metaphor from verse 34, we might assume that wisdom is something we earn from time spent in God's Word or in prayer. Maybe it's something you can only achieve when you've been a Christian for a long time. Maybe wisdom is for me someday, but out of my reach until I've worked my way through the prerequisites of good behavior and spiritual discipline. No, friend! That ain't it!

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As with much in life with Jesus, finding wisdom has little to do with my own earning or achievement. Rather, the book of James tells us that wisdom is something that we can ask God for and surely receive. No straight-A's, no perfect attendance required - we don't earn wisdom. God gives it when we seek it. James 1:5 says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you."

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Just as Lady Wisdom invites us, not to earn wisdom through perfect attendance, but to choose to show up on her doorstep consistently, eagerly, and with expectation, so James says that we can ask God for wisdom, and he will give it to us! When we come to the Lord with a heart fully surrendered to HIS way (see vv. 6-8), he will generously give us the wisdom we know that we can't live the deeper life without.

Lord, I recognize you as the Author of Wisdom. You alone know the good way to walk. I confess that I often want to follow the path that seems wise in my own eyes. Please create in me a clean heart, O God, fully surrendered to YOUR wisdom alone. Holy Spirit, remind me to ask for wisdom when I lack it, with a heart that truly trusts your answer as the way that leads to life. In the name of Jesus I pray, amen.