Out in the open wisdom calls aloud, she raises her voice in the public square;
on top of the wall she cries out, at the city gate she makes her speech:
“How long will you who are simple love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools hate knowledge?
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
I have personally struggled with an eating problem. I love sugar. Anything pudding, anything pie, anything cake, anything candy. I have hidden the fact that I would make triple batches of tapioca pudding, cookies, etc. using the excuse that I would make them for others. And then I would personally devour most of it myself. I had a gluttony issue. Add to that large plates of any food until I was stuffed. The Holy Spirit has on many occasions brought this to my attention. And for whatever excuse I could come up with, I had not mastered it. My peak weight hit 240 in January of 2026. When I would lean over to tie my shoes I was in distress. Why on earth could I not master this. For years this has been an issue. My issue was I was in rebellion to the Holy Spirit. He was trying to help me. But I would not be helped.
24
“But since you refuse to listen when I call and no one pays attention when I stretch out my hand, since you disregard all my advice and do not accept my rebuke I in turn will laugh when disaster strikes you; I will mock when calamity overtakes you— when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelm you. “Then they will call to me but I will not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord. Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke, they will eat the fruit of their ways and be filled with the fruit of their schemes. For the waywardness of the simple will kill them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.”
I was now filled with the fruit of my schemes. 240 pounds, barely able to tie my shoes without feeling like I might die. I would not accept His advice, and my waywardness was killing me. Wisdom had called out many times to me. I would try and master it in my own strength and fail every time. I felt like I would not live very long. February 10, 2026 when I read this passage I wrote the following:
Lord, seeing you as holy and true to your word. YOU ARE GOD!
How often a time have you laughed at my predicament as I have refused to listen when you call? When I have not payed attention to your outstretched arm? When I have disregarded your advice? When disaster struck and calamity has overtaken me? When disaster has swept over me like a whirlwind? When distress and trouble have overwhelmed me?
And I, like other men, have cried out in distress and you have not replied, and when I have looked for you but could not find you! There have been those moments in my life.
It is because I have hated knowledge and I did not choose to fear you Lord. I would not accept your advice and spurned your rebuke.
You let me eat the fruit of my ways and be filled with the fruit of my schemes.
You say for the waywardness of the simple will kill them and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
(HERE IT COMES, SHOUT IT LOUD “REPENTANCE”)
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.
I am turning to you today, to obey you in fear and awe of you. Lord you are God, I belong to you, I am your son. I will obey, by and empowered by your Holy Spirit obtained through grace! I turn to you confessing I have gone my own way. I am seeking your face, desiring to obey your words, to be your son. You have claimed me, now I shall make claim of you.
Be my rock, be my fortress, in you I WILL HIDE.
I began to recognize that my issue was not food. It was unconfessed sin. I was in rebellion against my maker. I knew what to do now. Reviewing the first chapter of this proverb it says this:
Repent at my rebuke! Then I will pour out my thoughts to you, I will make known to you my teachings.
I confessed my sin, I repented. He began to pour out His thoughts on me and make His teachings known to me. I could now hear Him again. He has empowered me to cross hurdles I have never crossed. He has me disciplining this body like never before. By His Holy Spirit I have been empowered on a journey of physical exercise and spiritual renewal.
His word is truth. He is the way the, the truth, and the life. I have submitted to Him and He is helping me.
