Why I Love The Book Of Proverbs

I love studying my Bible. It teaches me who God is and shows me the history of those who came before. But the book of Proverbs will always hold a special place in my heart with its nuggets of wisdom and practical advice.

There Is A Learning Curve

Although I didn’t realize what the problem was, for years my life was a mess because my thought life was a mess. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. I would try to apply what I learned sitting in church on Sunday. I was miserable and wanted the peace and joy I kept hearing about, I just didn’t have a clue how to go about it. Eventually, I realized that the Holy Spirit had been trying to tell me the issue. If you are a new(er) Christian, maybe my issue was one you can identify with; I was still thinking like a sinner and trying to apply biblical truth my way, not God’s way.

I wasn’t in my Bible enough to allow it to penetrate and renew my thinking. I was a busy homeschooling momma of 3 littles, busy with our church, and finding time to do more than quickly skimming my Bible was difficult. A paragraph a day was a good day.

Plus, I expected a total (and immediate) transformation to miraculously take place in my heart and mind like the people Jesus touched in the New Testament.

It never occurred to me that I was still thinking as the world thinks. I truly thought giving my life to Christ and the baptism of the Holy Spirit meant God would instantly transform my thinking to be in alignment with his. I would like to say that I quickly caught on and my life changed drastically. The truth is I struggled with this for way too long (probably a few years!).

Eventually, the Holy Spirit led me to the wonderful world of Proverbs! This short book of wisdom was just what I needed!

The Book of Proverbs

Because a proverb is a collection of profoundly wise statements, it gave me hundreds of practical examples on how to apply what I read in a godly way. Every area I needed guidance with was covered;

raising my boys
being mindful of my words
help for my marriage and friendships
what my life should look like as a Christian woman
how to know God and walk closer with God
money management

No matter what I was struggling with on any given day I could find wisdom on how to live out my faith in that area. Because I was still a newer Christian, I tended to get lost when I attempted a big-girl Bible study on these topics. I tried; I joined studies and accepted as fact all that I was told. But here in the book of Proverbs, I could find all this godly wisdom in one spot without having to spend all day searching or rely on someone else’s interpretation. Plus, I could focus on that Proverb and put it into practice. For example,

Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
(Proverbs 4:24)

Perverse, corrupt speech would be anything that displeased God including cursing, saying unkind things to others causing discouragement instead of encouragement, etc. This Proverb says to keep such talk far from my lips.

On the day I came to that verse, I prayed trusting God to help me use self-control with my words. If I spoke without thinking, I repented and prayed for strength not to do it again. It took a lot of practice but eventually, I was able to move onto other areas I needed to work on. Maybe you won’t have to spend so much time on one verse at a time like I did but I had to employ a pretty narrow focus with making sure what I said wasn’t perverse in God’s eyes.

A Fruitful Life Reflecting Jesus

Another reason the book of Proverbs holds a special place in my heart is that it taught me a great deal about God’s character (which I am to emulate). I didn’t realize that at first. I thought Proverbs was all about me; how I should think and behave as a follower of Jesus. It also showed me what would happen if I insisted on continuing to think and behave like a fool. As much as I needed to learn these things, the book of Proverbs provides so much more.

I didn’t come to Christ believing that God was good, just, kind, and lovingly guided us on our way. I had been taught to fear Him as he would harshly slam down the hammer of judgment at my slightest sin. The more I read through Proverbs, the more I could see that it shows God’s true character, his work in the life of a believer, and his blessings.

I needed this book because I didn’t know who God was or how to behave as a child of God.

Scripture Explains Scripture

The third reason the book of Proverbs is one of my favorite books in the Bible is that the Holy Spirit used it to cultivate a craving down deep inside of me to read His Word.

After reading them for a while, I began to wonder things like “So what does God say perverse talk is? Is it just cussing or is it saying mean things to someone? Is it taking God’s name in vain or trying to bargain with God to get my way?”

There were many opinions in the church about this but I wanted to see for myself what God had to say. So using my verse mapping skills I would dig into the rest of the Bible looking for the answers to my questions. Sometimes I would get lost in my studies with bunny trails that just confused me. But I always knew I could go back to the basics of Proverbs and allow the Holy Spirit to readjust my perspective.

After going through the book of Proverbs many times, I felt led to read the book of James in the New Testament. It wasn’t until years later that I discovered the book of James is considered the Proverbs of the New Testament. No wonder I was drawn to it!

In Conclusion

I don’t think the book of Proverbs gets near enough credit. Sometimes it feels like it is disregarded as a fluffy book and not taken seriously. Sure, a verse here or there is used but rarely do I hear encouragement to dig deep or to view Proverbs in light of who Jesus is.

Without viewing the book of Proverbs in light of Jesus Christ, they lose their power and significance and just become a bunch of encouraging saying. I had grown up being a lover of quotes. I didn’t need more empty words in my life. Can you relate?

Friend, you might be lightyears ahead of where I was when I was saved. Maybe you don’t need to study wisdom, knowledge, and your behavior like I did (still do!). Maybe you were raised in a Christian household that taught who Jesus is. I was not; I had been taught to think and behave as a sinner for 24 years. And being taught to behave as a godly woman? It didn’t happen.

The Holy Spirit knew how much I needed this precious book! Maybe you don’t need it as I did. I get it.

I get that our lives are all different.
I get that your time might be limited.
I get that you might feel overwhelmed trying to practically apply Scripture to your life.
I get the overwhelm and self-condemnation as you try to figure things out on your own.

But I don’t want you to spend years miserable because you can’t figure out where to start or how to put your faith into action. And Jesus doesn’t want that for you either. If you have been struggling with how to practically mix your faith and actions (James 2:14-26), I encourage you to head over to the book of Proverbs and immerse yourself into the well of wisdom to be found there!

By the way, if you want to find Jesus in Proverbs, check out the teaching by one of my favorite YouTubers, Mike Winger.