Man Up To Principle

You can't stumble into wisdom. It won't find you by accident, and you definitely don't already have it just because you want it. So how do you actually get it?

This week, Chris Alessi kicks off week seven of the Men's Morning Devotional as we move into Proverbs chapter 2. Working through the first five verses, Chris unpacks a principle that changes everything about how we chase after God: what you pursue determines what you discover. Solomon doesn't open the chapter with a promise — he opens with a condition. Four of them, actually, stacked one on top of another. Receive the words. Turn your ear. Call out for insight. Search like a treasure hunter. And only then comes the "then God will."

This isn't prosperity gospel. It's a promise with a condition attached — if we pursue, we will find. Jesus said the same thing: Seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened. But too many of us are hoping wisdom just shows up while we sit still. God is waiting on us to move first.

Verse of the Day: Proverbs 2:4–5

Your Daily Man-Up Challenge

Read Proverbs 2:1–4 and write out the four "if you" conditions Solomon lays out. What does each one actually look like in your life right now? Then write verse 5 at the bottom of the page as the promise you're standing on — and put it somewhere you'll see it all week.

NEW TO THE MEN’S MORNING DEVOTIONAL? 

Welcome!

The Men's Morning Devotional is a podcast to help you man up in every way - in your faith, your family and your work - by spending a few minutes getting into the Word before you face the world. 

Every weekday, you'll get a challenge and encouragement from Scripture that speaks to the pressures you carry as a husband, a father, and a leader. You’ll get truth you can take straight into your day. And you’ll know you’re not standing alone, because men everywhere are waking up to fight the same battle.

Your hosts are Steve Alessi, pastor of Metro Life Church of Miami, FL, along with his sons and other leaders of our Goodfellas men's ministry.

Join us every weekday to man up! 

MORE PODCASTS YOU'LL ENJOY

Find more podcasts about faith and family from Metro Life Studios, including:

My Morning Devotional

The Family Business with The Alessis

The Mary and Martha Show 

You can listen to all of these shows on our Metro Life Studios app here! 

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Transcript

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SPEAKER_00 0:01

Gentlemen, every day is a battle. A battle for your faith, your family, and your purpose. The men who stand strong don't prepare when the battle arrives. They prepare before it begins. Welcome to the men's morning devotional. Let's get into God's word. It's time to man up.

Chris Alessi 0:24

Alright, good morning, and welcome back to the men's morning devotional. It is Chris Alesi here, and I'm very glad to be hosting week seven as we continue to man up. We're going to continue looking at the book of Proverbs, but here's our man-up moment as we dive into Proverbs chapter two for the whole week. What you pursue determines what you discover. Solomon in the first five verses of Proverbs chapter two develops this principle that you see building one after another. You see these four if you statements followed by a then God will. Here's the verse. Proverbs chapter two, verse one. If you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. I like this passage because it doesn't open up with some promise, it opens up with a principle. And a principle is based on a condition. Before God will do anything, you have to do something. And what he lays out in verses one through four is not just one condition, it's actually four of them stacked up on top of each other. First, we accept the words and store them up. That's receiving. Those words could be, as Solomon is writing to his son, it could be the words of our father, our father figure, our spiritual father, he who lines up with wisdom. The idea here is we have to receive what God is saying, not just hearing it, but actually receiving it. Second, we have to turn our ear to wisdom, and that speaks of a posture. We have to orient ourselves around the right things. Our world is loud and it's pulling our attention in a hundred directions. Man, listen, today as you go about your day, people are trying to get your attention, but we have to intentionally turn our ear towards wisdom to daily act of the will. Third, we call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding. It's it's an active pursuit, actually, intentionally asking God to speak. We're not just hoping in some passive way that wisdom will just find us or that we'll run into it, or even worse, that we already have it. We cry aloud for it. And fourth, we search for it like a treasure hunter would search for hidden treasure. That's a desperate type of hunger. And that's what Solomon is describing here: a man who is searching for wisdom, intentionally acting upon a search for wisdom. And here's what I love about all of this: that those if you statements are followed up by what God will do. And this isn't some type of prosperity gospel. If you do the right things, you'll get all the right things. But look at this: there's four decisions. If we decide on these things, look at the decision that God makes. God decides that we will find the understanding of who we is, we'll find the knowledge of God. If we pursue, we will find. And this is what Jesus ends up saying in the New Testament: knock and the door will be open. Seek and you will find. This is true throughout all of Scripture. If we then God. So today, here's your man up challenge. Look at those four verses and write out the four if you conditions laid out in verses one through four. What does each one look like practically for you in your life now? Then write verse five at the bottom of the paper as the promise that you're standing on. And then put it somewhere visible where you can see it this week. Let's close in prayer today. Father, we want to be men who actually pursue your wisdom, not just casually, but in the way a man would search for treasure. Today, we accept your words. We turn our ears towards you. We call out for understanding. We are searching. We ask that you would hold up your end of this promise. Let us find the knowledge of who you are. In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 5:23

All right, gentlemen, you've heard God's word. Now go live it. Lead well, stand strong, honor God in everything you do. Share this devotional with another brother. Remember, every day is another opportunity to man up.