A child has a natural, unconditional love and adoration for his father, especially during the earliest years of life. Accompanying that love is a healthy fear, one that responds immediately when the tone of his father’s voice changes to convey concern or reproof. This is how the child begins to learn where his boundaries are; where he is protected, and when he is danger. He may not understand why these things are so, but for a while at least he accepts them as truth.

Such is “the beginning of knowledge.” That “fear of Adonai” keeps us on the path as we begin to learn the ways to walk in righteousness and holiness. What seems to always happen, however, is that as we gain the knowledge of God, we begin to think that we know as much as He does, and therefore have the right to not only question, but to choose alternatives to His ways.

Enter: the fool. Wisdom comes from a single source alone, and that is Adonai. To despise wisdom is to reject Adonai. We mistakenly believe that one is mature in the faith if he has knowledge of the Scriptures or appears to be able to make godly decisions. But true wisdom is upheld by discipline. An unwise man leads an undisciplined life; he is tossed about by his own perceptions and emotions and fails to consult the one from whom all true wisdom flows.

Discipline is not a measure of one’s ability to interact with others; it cannot be displayed on a mantle. Discipline is the foundation for personal growth and maturity in Messiah and manifests itself as a consistent string of fruitful decision-making. One is not disciplined because he keeps this commandment or that commandment; nor is one disciplined because he refrains from sin. Discipline is having the personal integrity to sit quietly before the Lord and wait for Him to speak, and not moving until He does. When we fail to seek the voice of God—and wait for it—we will make decisions according to our own wisdom, which is only foolishness.

Abba, Father, let me hear your voice today. I commit to you now, I will go no further along this path until you give me clear, explicit instructions. Lord, I don’t need to know the whole plan, all the steps in between. Abba, you show your people the end from the beginning, but all I ask for now is the next step. Until then, I will abound in your presence, I will worship you here, I will be enthralled by your wisdom and discipline. Grow me, Lord, and then show me how to move on from here….