Pick up the Scent Again

 

Proverbs 8:32 – Now therefore hearken unto me, O you children: for blessed are they that keep my ways.

    Imagine what life would be like if we always made wise choices. How would our financial situation look? What state would our health be in? What about our friendships or marriage? Realistically, though, we know that we do not always choose wisely. We live in a very imperfect world and there are many other factors and forces that come into play. A wise person then, may not necessarily, be someone who always acts wisely but one who, after making a wrong choice and possibly even falling, gets back up, dusts himself off and continues down the path of wisdom.

    We are exhorted by Wisdom to hearken to her. Hearken has its’ roots in an Old English word which was used to describe the hound dogs returning to the place where the scent had been lost in order to find it once again. Isn’t that powerful and picturesque? How many times have we lost the scent of God and have gotten off track and lost our way? Wisdom brings us back to the place where the scent has vanished and locates it for us once again.

    A hound is dependent on its nose for tracking, not necessarily its’ eyes or ears. It trusts its’ nose more than what it hears or sees. We, likewise, are to walk by faith and not by sight, not trusting our own understanding, but trusting in the wisdom of God. In other words, wisdom may not always look like wisdom, consequently, there is an element of faith that must go ahead and make the choice that it senses it must make. Purchase the land that other buyers are passing over. Befriend the person who is considered a lost cause. Apply for the job when it appears that it is way out of reach for you. Enter the contest. Start the business. Attend that church. Meet new people. Write the book. Learn the instrument. Trust what you sense inside; trust the guiding wisdom of God.

    Children are those who know that they can not make it on their own. They know their place and recognize their need for another to help. We are to have the spirit and attitude of a child; open, receptive, teachable and pliable. An innocent child is simply happy to be alive and eagerly taking in all the wonder.

    To be blessed is to be in a state of happiness and contentment, never wishing you were someone else, or wanting to be somewhere else. No! A blessed person has all that they need even though they may have many challenges and difficulties to face. It is a spiritual and emotional state that money or fame can never buy because it is not acquired through money; it is acquired through wisdom. There are many rich people in this world who do not have what the blessed person has, and those same rich people may even envy them because that condition of lasting happiness and satisfaction may have eluded them all their life.

    To keep God’s ways implies that we must be aware and on guard that there are enemies to walking in the paths of God. There will always be diversions and different paths being offered in an attempt to side-track us, so to speak. The paths of wisdom are well-established ways that are time-tested and time-trusted. We do not have to reinvent the wheel; those paths already exist. We just have to pick up the scent again and stay close to wisdom’s guidance. They that keep those ways and follow those paths are those who will continue to enjoy the blessing of God’s peace and contentment, no matter what comes their way, and that, my friends, is a satisfying life.