Then
We need some then. Lots of it. Lots of then.
Proverbs 2 (CJB)
2 My son, if you will receive my words and store my commands inside you, 2 paying attention to wisdom inclining your mind toward understanding — 3 yes, if you will call for insight and raise your voice for discernment, 4 if you seek it as you would silver and search for it as for hidden treasure — 5 then you will understand the fear of Adonai and find knowledge of God.
But before the then-s comes the if-s. Did you see them?
If we will receive the words of Wisdom; not only receive but actually store them; that means think on them after we have read them. Mediate on them. Keeping them handy. Right there on the desktop of our minds so we can pay attention to them as we navigate the day. As we do this we start to understand the goings on around us.
Verse 3. A Yes and an If.
If we call; if we raise our voices in prayer; if we ask for insight, if we ask for discernment into that situation that we are bummed out about, that one that we can’t make heads nor tails about; if we don’t let up, if we seek Wisdom, if we seek ABBA for this insight, this discernment like sale items on Black Friday THEN, then we will begin to understand this reverence for God we have heard about AND we will FIND the knowledge of the LORD we have been looking for.
And that’s only to verse 5. I invited you to read the rest of Proverbs 2. Look for If-s. Look for then-s. Look for Wisdom’s promises. Find them and rejoice that they are YOURS – IF and THEN.
Yep. There’s a dearth of then in the land.