Verse of the Day for July 16

Wisdom is speaking in this chapter, standing where the roads meet and calling to anyone passing by. In verse sixteen she lists who relies on her: By me princes rule, and nobles, even all the judges of the earth.

If you feel small, that line might make it worse. Princes, nobles, judges. Important people making important decisions. But the next verse widens the door. I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me. No title is required. Only love and seeking.

The wisdom that guides rulers is available to the woman frying akara at the roadside, to the student in the back row, to the cleaner who arrives before the managers. The only condition is that you look for it, and look early, before the day has filled your hands.

Even the riches she offers are a different kind: durable riches and righteousness. Not wealth that can vanish in a bad month, but the kind that lasts because it is joined to doing right. The small often hold more of that than the great.

Feeling small is not the same as being shut out. Seek her tomorrow at first light, in whatever corner you wake up in.

God does not ration wisdom by rank.

Durable riches are the ones that survive a bad year.