Here Is the Secret to a Wise, Fruitful, Overflowing Life

It’s laced through Proverbs—direction-over-pace living. I walk circles while I read but it’s a one-direction life that’s named as wise. Words I’m underlining: “stay focused,” “always remember,” “lean in closer,” “pay attention,” “observe, “listen,” “watch,” “take note.” They’re teeming with grace and invitation to a fruitful, overflowing life.

Truth is we elevate the pace as if speed matters most. Our calendars are like my daughter’s school backpack, barely able to be zipped. The extra weight of obligated yeses, unneeded to-do’s, and inhuman expectations we’re packing around creates an ache in our souls.

No wonder we’re lonely even when other people live close by.

Weary and frustrated.

Dried up and numb.

We’ve spun the equation out of balance. Reversed the arrow on the greater than sign. But direction and pace cannot be used interchangeably. They’re not equally important.

A One-Direction Life Is Wise

In the book of Proverbs, wisdom is personified. Described as friend and guide. A precious gem. A thriving tree. She is caution and promise. An arrow ever pointing us to God.

In chapter two we read,

If you listen to Lady Wisdom, attune your ears to her,

and engage your mind to understand what she is telling you,

If you cry out to her for insight and beg for understanding,

If you sift through the clamor of everything around you,

to seek her like some precious prize,

to search for her like buried treasure;

Then you will grasp what it means to truly respect the Eternal,

and you will have discovered the knowledge of the one True God.

vs. 2-5, The Voice

That’s her role—her one aim—to teach us to revere God Eternal. She knows the direction is vital. That we’re always pursuing something, and if it isn’t Him, it’s something that will distance us from Him.

What is Reverence?:

Reverence isn’t a word we use often, but it’s become dear to me. I find it in a gentle, gray sky and the spot on the floor where I meet with God every morning. I find it in the raw, pure worship songs I can’t turn off. I find it on journal pages and Bible pages and through words in books that point me to Him. I find it in the quiet and in the unhinged laughter of my kids. I find it in heart-to-hearts and asking for help.

It’s awareness and awe. Beholding God and becoming more like Him.

It’s fire consuming all that distracts. Rain watering our God-thirsty souls.

It’s confession and repentance. Forgiveness and trust. Joy and lament.

It’s all that cracks us open to see more of God.

Merriam-Webster defines reverence as “honor or respect felt or shown . . . especially: profound adoring awed respect.” The word appears many times in the book of Proverbs, at least in The Voice, which is the translation I’m reading for Mary Demuth’s 90 day Bible reading challenge. To name a few,

Reverence for the Eternal, the one True God, is the beginning of wisdom; true knowledge of the Holy One is the start of understanding

Proverbs 9:10

Reverence for the Eternal makes for a long and peaceful life.

Proverbs 10:27

Reverence for the Eternal brings bold confidence.

Proverbs 14:26

Reverence for the Eternal is the first lesson of wisdom, and humility always precedes honor.

Proverbs 15:33

How can reverence be both the goal and the beginning? Because awe grows. Respect takes roots. Adoration overflows.

Proximity and the Ripple-Effect

Reverence brings clarity, and when we see God for who He is, everything else begins to fall into place. We don’t self-make ourselves into wise people—who, as Mary Demuth articulates, “speak life . . . practice honesty . . . welcome discipline and correction . . . have a strong work ethic . . . harness their tongues . . . [and] practice peace in their relationships” (90 Day Bible Reading Challenge, pgs. 98-99). We simply draw closer to Jesus. Make Him our one aim.

Patterning our lives after Christ is not about effort, but proximity. We best learn God’s nature in the next-to-Him place, when we tuck in close, match His rhythm of breathing, the wild, reckless way His heart loves. Here is where we abide. Trade names and lies and labels for the one He’s already gave us: beloved. We learn we don’t have to strive because, as Upper Room sings, there is no need to earn what God says is free, no need to prove what He says is already finished.

And then all the good He’s growing in you, let it show. Let it ripple out into a world with its own ache and weary and suffocating busy. Let it grace your neighborhood with sincerity and compassion. Let it fill practical needs and offer a warm embrace. Let it live bold but humble.

Let’s pray.

Jesus, we offer You the tangled, tense places in our hearts. We confess we’ve often wanted our own way more than we’ve desired You. Been more concerned with our pace than the direction we’re going. Teach us to revere You in the quiet, unseen moments. Hunger after You from the depths of our souls.

Shape us. Mold us. Guide us. Grow us.

May we not keep to ourselves what You’re tending within us.

May reverence guide us in the beginning and the whole way through.

Just a friend over here in your corner,

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Begin Within is a series to inspire a year-round lifestyle of gratitude that will impact not only your own life, but the lives of your neighbors as well. Gratitude is a theme we talk about often around here because it ties so closely into other missional living rhythms. Practicing gratitude reminds to keep our hearts soft and expectant and our eyes open. Therefore, the more we embrace gratitude, the easier it becomes to truly see our neighbors and where we can join what God is already doing in our neighborhoods.

P.S. Did you know that The Uncommon Normal is also available as a podcast? Tune in to Apple Podcasts or Spotify to listen!