WHEN GOD TEACHES US (meditation notes)

[Julie Harvey]

PROVERBS 4:11, (meditation notes from proverbs study on wisdom: declaration)

11 I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths.

God has taught me a true narrative.

I am learning how to put things in a proper perspective. God has taught me wise thoughtfulness.

God has instructed and informed me.

God has given me a true narration (tale, story).

True narrative – true insight into my past present and future.

God has instructed me – by showing me how it all fits into his plan – God’s providence.

God has initiated me into the mysteries (of his will, ways and purposes).

God has fully taught me

God has accustomed me to wisdom. He has given me an intimate acquaintance with wisdom.

He has given me hidden, secret wisdom. God has secret wisdom – secret things not obvious to the understanding. Demonstrating true wisdom. The wisdom that cultivates the soul and corrects mistakes.

He has taught me wisdoms ways. Wisdoms ways curb the passions.

God has given insight, teaching power, increased virtue, and taught me in the way. Taught me direction. How to deal with and remove mountains (obstacles).

There will be made a way where there was no way. Where there is no way – taught to tunnel through mountains.

Led forth. God leads me forth into my destiny. Wisdom guides me into my destiny. Right choices. Learning to make right choices.

The ways of wisdom. Learning the ways of wisdom is a process.

It can take years to learn. Jesus also had to grow in wisdom. (Luke 2:52). We need to be patient.

He has taught me two ways of wisdom:

v A lifestyle

v An attitude


Learning the attitude comes first. Then the lifestyle, but it is all an ongoing process. It will last a lifetime. We learn here all that we will need for eternity. This lifetime is training ground.

He will teach me through everything in my life. All that has happened, and will happen and is happening.

He teaches me the “route” of wisdom.

“Skill in War”

The way of wisdom is also the way of skill in war. *(Enhanced Strong's Lexicon --dict. meaning)

God has taught me the way of skill in war, (through all my “conditions” in life). God will use everything I have ever been through to teach me wisdom.

It is a lifestyle and a journey. A lifestyle, a journey and a destiny filled with wisdom (or at least a pointing out of where I went wrong, or was out of balance in the past, even when I was making unwise choices when I was in the world – before I was a Christian; as an immature Christian, and also as a growing Christian). God makes use of even my mistakes, to help me to choose better ways next time.


He teaches me how to fight the enemy – “he teaches my hands to war” Psalm 18:34 "He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms."

I also have a destiny of skill in war – a destiny that will be filled with skillful and godly wisdom. Skill in war comes from knowing God’s will concerning the enemy in my situation, and how to deal with him. What season am I in? Is it a time to stay silent or a time to speak? And so on.

There is a price to pay for true wisdom. The way of true wisdom often does not come easy.

Through all my experiences, thus far, God has taught me to be skilled in war. There will always be more to learn. God wants us to have a teachable spirit.

God has taught me, instructed me, and initiated me into the mysteries and secrets of wisdom. Secrets of sharp, piercing discernment. He has taught me in the ways of acute perception and sound judgment. This has only happened because I have stayed close to Him, continuing and abiding in Him and in His Word. If my treasure is wisdom, my heart will abide in it. (See Matt 6:21; 12:35).

“People problems”


He has taught me (and will teach us all, if we are willing) to discern and judge a character. I think if we are wiling to take the log out of our own eye, then we will be able to see to take the speck from our brother's eye. So are we willing to see the log in our own? Also, our discernment is not given to us so we can have a critical, judgmental, or prideful attitude. So, in saying all of this, God has at times enabled me to see through a persons motives etc.


God often does not allow me to defend myself, when someone gets the wrong idea about me, mistreats me etc. This is painful, but I need to trust God to work in the situation. I will not always be able to please people and they will not always like me. However, it is not always me that has the problem. Once I thought it was, most of the time. I need to be patient and wait on God for vindication and realize that I cannot change people.


In these situations it is hard to deal with anger. What do I do about the anger, Lord? (Anger over injustice etc). God has just delivered me from a “bubble” or “rock” of anger that was lodged inside me. Or should I say it was a veritable boulder!! It took months to come to the surface and was hard to deal with. I kept getting angry with everything. But my trying circumstances _ God used injustices against me in many situations and people transgressing over my boundaries to bring it to the surface (will go into later).


“Penetration and Farsightedness”

He has taught me penetration and farsightedness. Painful applications. There is an anointing from the crushing – it doesn’t come easy. It is hard when you can see through someone, and know how he or she really feels about you. It’s all about learning to rise above it (and this is a painful and not an easy thing to learn). Once again, how do I deal with this anger? How do I deal with it before it gets to the “boulder” stage (“boulder lodged deep within.)? Perhaps we cannot avoid these things sometimes. But God will always deliver us! Amen!

God gives me a true narrative of penetration and farsightedness. I need to look beyond today and hold firm the promises of God.

Initiated into the mysteries of penetration and farsightedness.

A marked out and well traveled course. I have therefore become accustomed to penetrating farsightedness. I have vision. God will give us wisdom for our vision.

An intimate acquaintance with wisdom. This comes through learning patience. Patience teaches us wisdom – we learn a lot when we are tested and tried and have to wait for God to come through i.e. Joseph. (See Psalm 106) God actually gave me this as a “rehma” word a couple of weeks ago. How true it is!!

Initiated into the mysteries of wisdom. Once we have been shown these mysteries in wisdom (which include our destiny), we need to cooperate with God in preparing His way. (Luke 3:4-6).

Cultivating a soul of wisdom. Cultivating “soil” (the soil of the heart) to receive and apply wisdom.

Things not obvious to the understanding of most. Fully taught and instructed into wisdoms ways.


The insight of wisdom. It is:


v A process of wisdom

v An attitude of wisdom

v A life style of wisdom

v Eventually, a condition of wisdom

Taught in the ways of discerning awareness

Taught in the ways of perception and sound judgment

God shows us the ways he does things (Like Jesus said – he does what the father shows him) – John 5:1919 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

He puts things in order His way – the right way.

He often pulls things apart in order to put them back together again properly – the right way. He wounds but he binds up (Find scripture).

He shows us His ways of ordering and arranging.

He shows us His inclination and thoughts.

He gives us insight into His thoughts and inclinations – so we can make wise decisions based on them.

He has taught me and will continue to teach me a broad, deep penetration and a wide mental grasp of His ways and purposes. The ways in which he does things are the ways of wisdom.

We need this broad scope – broad, full; space and opportunity for unhampered thought, motion, and action into the ways and purposes of God.


Therefore prize and exalt wisdoms ways: Proverbs 4:8:8 Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her.

He has taught us and will continue to teach us to apprehend the inner nature of his ways and purposes. To see intuitively into His ways and purposes.

To see deep within the nature of His ways and purposes


Thank you Lord for your training in wisdom! We may not like it when we are going through it at the time, but you will bring us out into a broad place! Amen

Psalm 18:1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength.
2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.
3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies.
4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid.
5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.
6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, and my cry came before him, even into his ears.
7 Then the earth shook and trembled; the foundations also of the hills moved and were shaken, because he was wroth.
8 There went up a smoke out of his nostrils, and fire out of his mouth devoured: coals were kindled by it.
9 He bowed the heavens also, and came down: and darkness was under his feet.
10 And he rode upon a cherub, and did fly: yea, he did fly upon the wings of the wind.
11 He made darkness his secret place; his pavilion round about him were dark waters and thick clouds of the skies.
12 At the brightness that was before him his thick clouds passed, hail stones and coals of fire.
13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
14 Yea, he sent out his arrows, and scattered them; and he shot out lightnings, and discomfited them.
15 Then the channels of waters were seen, and the foundations of the world were discovered at thy rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of thy nostrils.
16 He sent from above, he took me, he drew me out of many waters.
17 He delivered me from my strong enemy, and from them which hated me: for they were too strong for me.
18 They prevented me in the day of my calamity: but the LORD was my stay.
19 He brought me forth also into a large place; he delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments were before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Therefore hath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.
27 For thou wilt save the afflicted people; but wilt bring down high looks.
28 For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness.
29 For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my God have I leaped over a wall.
30 As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him.
31 For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?
32 It is God that girdeth me with strength, and maketh my way perfect.
33 He maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon my high places.
34 He teacheth my hands to war, so that a bow of steel is broken by mine arms.
35 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy right hand hath holden me up, and thy gentleness hath made me great.
36 Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip.
37 I have pursued mine enemies, and overtaken them: neither did I turn again till they were consumed.
38 I have wounded them that they were not able to rise: they are fallen under my feet.
39 For thou hast girded me with strength unto the battle: thou hast subdued under me those that rose up against me.
40 Thou hast also given me the necks of mine enemies; that I might destroy them that hate me.
41 They cried, but there was none to save them: even unto the LORD, but he answered them not.
42 Then did I beat them small as the dust before the wind: I did cast them out as the dirt in the streets.
43 Thou hast delivered me from the strivings of the people; and thou hast made me the head of the heathen: a people whom I have not known shall serve me.
44 As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me.
45 The strangers shall fade away, and be afraid out of their close places.
46 The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.
47 It is God that avengeth me, and subdueth the people under me.
48 He delivereth me from mine enemies: yea, thou liftest me up above those that rise up against me: thou hast delivered me from the violent man.
49 Therefore will I give thanks unto thee, O LORD, among the heathen, and sing praises unto thy name.
50 Great deliverance giveth he to his king; and sheweth mercy to his anointed, to David, and to his seed for evermore.

** Please note, any of the statements that I have made above, esp. in the first section (few paragraphs) are more like a declaration from the word of God. We need to believe what the Word of God says about us, and this is why I am making these statements! I have been growing in wisdom's ways as the Lord has been teaching me and so my experiences are woven throughout this section. I also have to believe what God says in His Word, the things that I am enttiled to in Christ Jesus, as I continue to grow in these areas, and as Paul said, not that he had attained or arrived, but...." I press on...." Amen!