June 30 | Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 | The Wisdom to Know the Difference Part II There’s a season for everything. Things come and go. There’s always a beginning and an end. When we realize this unfolding, our faith deepens. Gratitude leads. We come to appreciate more deeply the moments we do get and realize they are gifts from God.

June 23 | Ecclesiastes 1:1-4 | The Wisdom to Know the Difference Part I Ecclesiastes reminds us that we shouldn’t be so confident in our understanding. The best we can do is remember that we were created for a season, for a time, and that our creature-ness will eventually come to an end. Seeing life from this angle brings with it a certain wisdom that helps us see beyond vanity.

June 16 | Job 42:1-6 | Accepting What Can’t Change Pt II At the end of the book, Job and God mend their divisive and frustrating relationships with humanity and each other. Job wants God to show up and right the illegitimate wrongs. God wants everyone to understand their place within God’s realm. Seeing how these relationships come to an agreeable end is the thing from which wisdom is made.

June 9 | Job 28:20-28 | Accepting What Can’t Change Pt I Despite our best attempts at living with wisdom, some of the most hallowed assumptions are proven false by experience. We often think wisdom supersedes experience, but not in Job. Experience re-authors our understanding of wisdom. It reminds us that real-time and real-emotions shape and color our understanding of God. Job learns this in difficult ways. How he process this pain is for us to understand too.

June 2 | Proverbs 22:1-2 | Changing What Can Change Part II Proverbs 22:1-2 reminds us we must recalibrate our minds from thinking being rich is better than having a good name. Having a good name and being seen as in favor with others is better than being wealthy.

May 26 | Proverbs 12:25 | Changing What Can Change Part I The Book of Proverbs is a positive, hollowed assumption about the goodness of life and the justice of God. Almost every section of scripture reminds us to live positively and with fidelity and hope. Proverbs has a way of using real-life applications to paint a picture of the past and ultimately our future. Out of the hundreds of proverbs available, Proverbs 12:25 offers a way in which we can live with the anxiety of our day but not be overcome by it.