The Pleasant Ways of the Wise

Happy is the man who finds wisdom…her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her. Proverbs 3:13,17-18

My husband and I just enjoyed a meandering drive across West Virginia where we visited old cemeteries and explored his family’s original “stomping grounds.”

One of our stops was at the reconstructed homestead of pioneer Watters Smith, now the site of a state park. Smith, one of my husband’s ancestors, arrived in the area in the 1790s and spent a couple of years there clearing the land, getting it ready for farming, and building a cabin before his wife and family joined him. 

It took an incredible amount of backbreaking work, creativity (making tools and farm implements in his own blacksmith shop), courage to face the wilderness dangers, and perseverance to survive in the newly founded nation. 

The Smith family, which eventually included eight children, also established a church and a schoolhouse for the growing neighborhood. Twelve-year-old Thomas J. Jackson walked four miles to attend school with the Smith children; he was later known as “Stonewall” Jackson, the Confederate general distinguished for his tactical genius. 

Watters Smith was also known as a devout Baptist, and he and his wife entertained up to 60 people at their home during Baptist Association meetings in the early 1800s. He must have been a very wise man. 

A wise person is, of course, admirable, experienced and mature, prudent, judicious, full of knowledge and able to use it effectively. The book of Proverbs has more to say about wisdom than any other book in the Bible and describes it as valuable to desire and achieve. Most of the proverbs simply encourage readers to be sensible. 

But pleasant? In Proverbs 3:17-18, wisdom offers ways of pleasantness, peace, and happiness. If we had discussed these verses with Watters Smith, he would probably describe his own wisdom as something difficult to achieve, requiring lots of hard work, learned through painful falls, hard to maintain. Doesn’t sound very pleasant to me.

Maybe then, this passage describes the results of wisdom—learned along the pathways of diligence that lead to God’s blessings. We have no way to know, but Watters Smith was probably a happy man. He could have found joy in knowing that his children were being educated, that a church was thriving in their new settlement, and that he was able to feed and house his family along with entertaining a bounty of guests.

Most importantly, he would have understood the requirements for wisdom’s fruitfulness. A wise man in the early years of America would need to plan well, tackle the necessary jobs to forge a new life in the sweeping frontier, and endure as a spiritual leader for his family. Smith had to wrap his arms around wisdom so he could thrive in the abundance of God’s “tree of life” and be assured of heaven through his faith in Jesus Christ.

Friend, we have some good news in Scripture, that wisdom is always readily available to us, even in our own time. James, the brother of Christ, says that if we lack wisdom, our Lord will give it to all of us liberally and without reproach. All we have to do is ask for it, without doubting.

Certainly, we must embrace wisdom by accepting it, planting it firmly in our hearts, practicing it, and persistently abiding in it. Like the gifts of love, joy, and peace from the Holy Spirit, wisdom is a gift that must be nourished and cultivated to be productive. Just knowing the wisdom of God’s commands isn’t enough; we must put it into action.

In that way, wisdom’s ways are indeed pleasant. They lead to peace and happiness. Oh, to be wise in the ways of the Lord! Oh, to have that heavenly joy that surpasses any of earth’s rewards! 

My hope is that you and I will scour God’s word daily to acquire His wisdom. Then, in the strength of Jesus Christ, we will press forward toward the prize of eternal life with Him. That, my friend, is the ultimate pleasance we desire and need.

O Lord God of earth and heaven, I pray you will hear my pleas to know Your wisdom for my daily life. Please pour out Your Holy Spirit upon me, and let me hear Your whispers of encouragement to love and honor others, in Your name and for Your glory. Help me to persevere in following Your ways of peace, and let me find my devotion for You a pleasant task in the process. May Your wisdom be a crown of life to give back to You. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Nancy C. Williams is a Christian wife/mom with a writing career spanning more than 40 years in business and journalism. Williams is the author of the novel To Love a Falcon and the devotional book A Crocus in the Desert: Devotions, Stories, and Prayers for Women Experiencing Infertility. Her blogs are featured on Crossmap.com and AriseDaily. To follow Nancy’s posts and news, go to her home page at NancyCWilliams.com and subscribe at the bottom. 

© Copyright 2026 Nancy C. Williams (text and photography). Unless otherwise noted, Scripture verses are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. #JesusChrist #faithjourney #Christianliving #faithoverfear #flood #walkwithGod #faith #kingdomlife #Christianencouragement #Biblestudy #dailydevotional #Godisgood #Redeemer #Savior #prayerwarrior #Christianity #Jesus #God #Christian #Bible #trust #love #church #Christ #prayer #Bibleverse #presenceofGod #HolySpirit #WattersSmith #homestead #pioneers #frontierlife #treeoflife #wisdomofGod #StonewallJackson #WestVirginia #WattersSmithStatePark

To learn more about Watters Smith Memorial State Park in West Virginia, go to https://wvstateparks.com/parks/watters-smith-memorial-state-park/