Advice from My Father 父親的忠告
Your Father in heaven knows what』s best for you.
天父為我們安排的永遠最好。
Trust in the Lordwith all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5
你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明。-箴言3章5節
After being laid off from an editorial job, I prayed, asking for God to help me find a new one. But when weeks went by and nothing came of my attempts at networking and filling out applications, I began to pout. 「Don』t You know how important it is that I have a job?」 I asked God, my arms folded in protest at my seemingly unanswered prayer.
因遭公司裁退，我失去了編輯的工作。過後，我向上帝禱告，求祂幫助我找到一個新的工作。然而一周周過去，我填寫的申請表或在網路上投出的履歷都石沉大海，無消無息。我開始感到不滿，並且質問上帝：「禰難道不知道，擁有一份工作對我來說有多重要嗎？」我雙手交叉抱在胸前向上帝抗議，因祂似乎沒有回應我的禱告。
When I talked to my father, who had often reminded me about believing God』s promises, about my job situation, he said, 「I want you to get to the point where you trust what God says.」
我父親常常提醒我，要信靠上帝的信實。我和他聊起找工作的情況時，他說：「我希望妳能學習更信靠上帝，相信祂言出必行。」
My father』s advice reminds me of Proverbs 3, which includes wise advice from a parent to a beloved child. This familiar passage was especially applicable to my situation: 「Trust in the Lordwith all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight」 (Proverbs 3:5–6). To 「make . . . paths straight」 means God will guide us toward His goals for our growth. His ultimate goal is that I become more like Him.
父親的提醒，使我想起箴言第3章，提到了父母給摯愛的子女智慧的忠告。這段熟悉的經文，特別適用於我的處境：「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上都要認定祂，祂必指引你的路」（箴言3章5-6節）。「指引你的路」即表示上帝會引導我們，走向祂所定的目標，使我們成長茁壯。祂最終的目的是要我越來越像祂。
This does not mean that the paths He chooses will be easy. But I can choose to trust that His direction and timing are ultimately for my good.
這並不表示上帝會為我們安排一條康庄大道，但我可以選擇相信祂的引導和祂所定的時間，最終都能使我得著益處。
Are you waiting on God for an answer? Choose to draw near to Him and trust that He will guide you.
你還在等待上帝的回應嗎？不妨選擇親近上帝，並且相信祂必指引你的路。
Lord, thank You for guiding and caring for us every step of the way. Help us to trust in You daily as we take You at Your word in what You"ve promised.
主啊，感謝禰每一步地引導、看顧我們。求禰幫助我們相信禰所應許的話語，天天信靠禰。
Proverbs 3:1-7NIV
3My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart,
2for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity.
3Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart.
4Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
5Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
6in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
7Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil.
箴言 3:1-7
3我兒，不要忘記我的法則，你心要謹守我的誡命，
2因為他必將長久的日子、生命的年數與平安加給你。
3不可使慈愛、誠實離開你，要系在你頸項上，刻在你心版上。
4這樣，你必在神和世人眼前蒙恩寵，有聰明。
5你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，
6在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。
7不要自以為有智慧，要敬畏耶和華，遠離惡事。
INSIGHT
靈糧透視
The first nine chapters of Proverbs don』t follow the same format (pithy sayings; poetry couplets) that the rest of the book follows. The beginning chapters are a father』s encouragement to his son. The father tells his son of the benefits of wisdom, of its ability to make life more pleasant and fulfilling. Wisdom and folly are personified and invite the young man to pursue them. But why is this important? It seems obvious that wisdom is better than folly, so why go to such lengths to convince a child of the need to pursue wisdom?
箴言前九章的格式顯然與後面的章節有所不同，就是沒有精闢的格言或詩歌對仗。箴言開始的幾章是一位父親對兒子的勸勉，讓兒子明白智慧的益處，智慧能使生活更加愉快和充實。其中智慧和愚昧被擬人化，而且智慧和愚昧都會邀請少年人去追求他們。但這些勸誡有什麼重要呢？智慧顯然遠勝過愚昧，何須用冗長的篇幅勸孩子追求智慧呢？
The answer is experiential. You see, folly is the easier of the two, the more natural. As we read chapters 10–31, we see what the better choice is. But folly is far simpler to choose—it seems hardwired into us. Whether it』s a harsh word, a selfish action, or self-indulgence, folly is always ready to embrace us. That』s why the father takes such time to encourage his son to pursue wisdom. Wisdom isn』t restricted to big decisions, however; we need it for every action we take and every word we speak.
這實在是經驗之談。畢竟在智慧與愚昧兩者之間，選擇愚昧容易得多了，而且更符合人的天性。我們閱讀箴言10-31章時，會看到什麼是更好的選擇。但選擇愚拙要簡單得多，因為愚拙似乎是我們的本性。無論是苛刻的言語、自私的行為，還是自我放縱，愚昧總是隨時不離我們左右。正因如此，這位父親需要花這麼多的時間，勸勉他的兒子追求智慧。不過，我們並不是在做重大的決策時才需要智慧，而是我們的每一個行動、每一句話都需要智慧。
How can we pursue wisdom today?
今天，我們當如何追求智慧呢？
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