Fresh Bread: Perverted!

…Thy wisdom and thy knowledge, it hath PERVERTED thee; and thou hast said in thine heart, I am, and none else beside me. (Isaiah 47:10, KJV)

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. (Proverbs 1:7, KJV)

The word “pervert” has a very negative and morally filthy connotation. It may cause us to think about some old man in a rain coat doing something very inappropriate. However, the actual meaning of this word lends itself to something far more troublesome to God. The English word is derived from the Latin word “perverto”, which doesn’t simply mean to “corrupt” or “spoil”, but also: to turn the wrong way; to invert the order of; to cause to face in the opposite direction.

God tells us that to fear Him is the beginning of His knowledge. Isaiah warns about how our own wisdom and knowledge can pervert us. It happens far too often that our own wisdom and knowledge: (1) Turn us in the wrong direction (when we should be looking to God – Psalms 121:1-2); (2) Invert the order of our lives (putting our natural man first instead of His Spirit); (3) Cause us to face in the opposite direction (from God).

Thus, in God’s eyes, we are perverted when we are so focused on ourselves, our abilities, and even our inabilities that we fail to turn to Him, and His wisdom and knowledge. This is the perversion that limits God from doing the things in our lives that only He can.

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, help me to stop turning in the wrong direction (away from God) whenever I encounter both positive and negative situations. I cannot trust my own wisdom when things are great, nor discredit Your ability to give me Your wisdom when things aren’t good. Please help me to keep my focus on God! This I ask in Jesus’ Name, Amen.