FINDING REALIZATION

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In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The sayings of Agur son of Jakeh—an inspired utterance.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God, but I can prevail. Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son?

Surely you know!

Proverbs 30:1-4

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

It’s been said one of the keys to having zest for life is to see it as a lifelong learning experience.

Today, I will finally earn my Bachelor’s of Science degree in Sociology from Old Dominion University, a quest I began back in 2001. After serving so many years in the United States Navy, I could only go to school when the opportunity would present itself. Often years would go by where I couldn’t take a class. But now, some 13 years after I started, I’ve reached the finish line, at least in achieving this educational goal. I’ll enjoy the moment but then start to look ahead to what’s next for there’s always something new to learn. No person is perfectly knowledgeable in all things.

There is no better place to realize this truth, that’s there’s still so much to learn, than when you become a Christian and seek the wisdom and guidance of the Lord for your life. Even when you do find yourself understanding some things, questions are raised about others. And the more we pursue and receive the Lord’s direction and knowledge, the more we are humbled and reminded of our own ignorance, of how much we need to rely on Him to help us through the life He has blessed us with.

I believe it’s this state of realization, the state that the Lord is all knowing and we are not, if where we find a man named Agur who enters the Book of Proverbs in Chapter 30. Through his inspired utterance to a man named Ithiel, we are given a look into his heart, mind, and soul, a look which shows us the proper approach we all should have when we consider our relationship to the Lord God Almighty. Look again at Agur’s words here:

“I am weary, God, but I can prevail. Surely I am only a brute, not a man; I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.

Who has gone up to heaven and come down? Whose hands have gathered up the wind? Who has wrapped up the waters in a cloak? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is his name, and what is the name of his son?

Surely you know!    Proverbs 30:1b-4

Through verse 3, we find Agur confessing his position in life, a position that was in the following states:

1. Weariness.

“I am weary, God, but I can prevail.”

I can totally relate to Agur here. There are days when I am just worn out and am reminded that I just don’t have the strength to make it on my own. But thanks be to God that I can remember His assurances and prevail, no matter what my circumstances, because with the strength of the Lord, I can do all things (Philippians 4:13).

2. Lowliness.

“Surely I am only a brute, not a man.”

Look up the word “brute” and you’ll find it is someone who is “unreasoning and animal-like.” Not exactly the most flattering way to introduce yourself to someone. But Agur’s point here was that he was not worthy to even stand before his Creator God. His sense of humility is something we all need to embody for when we lower ourselves, we elevate the Lord to the position He needs to be in over us. A brute has no reasoning in and of themselves but with the Lord’s will and way guiding them, they can become something better, something they could never be on their own. The Lord lifts us up from our lowly state into His righteousness. Agur understood that and we need to as well.

3. Ignorance.

“I do not have human understanding. I have not learned wisdom, nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.”

In essence, Agur is admitting that he has a lot to learn. We all do. For we think we have understanding but all we have is just a surface knowledge of things. We realize this when we dig deeper into the things we think we know and sometimes people reject this notion because they are afraid of having their ignorance exposed.

Agur certainly wasn’t one of those people. He realized that without the Lord’s wisdom and knowledge, he lacked what he really needed to know in life. This admission is the first step to seeking and finding the Lord’s insight on matters of life as He illuminates our prayers and His word with the power of the Holy Spirit.

Friends, when we can take the approach of Agur, humbling ourselves appropriately before the Lord who made us, then we will understand fully who He is and who we are. We understand that He is our Lord, the One has done, is doing, and will continue to do all things and do them perfectly, things we will never be able to do in our humanity, such as:

- Go up to heaven and come down.

- Gather up the wind with our hands.

- Wrap up the waters in a cloak.

- Establish the ends of the earth.

No man can do this. Only God and His Son Jesus who He sent to save us. Agur found this realization and testified to it. Let’s follow his suit each and every day we’re given to live and love and learn by the all-knowing (Omniscient), all present (Omnipresent), and all powerful (Omnipotent) Lord we are blessed to serve.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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