露芳是一名專案經理，最近她很後悔接了一個短期的工作項目，因為客戶和設計師都在考驗她的耐心。她心想：為什麼這麼困難？這些人為什麼要一改再改？

幾週後，當她閱讀箴言27章，第17節特別引起她的注意：「鐵磨鐵，磨出刃來。」她後來在小組裡跟大家分享：「你不能用絲綢這類柔軟的物品來磨平稜角，必須要用鐵這類堅硬的物品才行。」

露芳突然意識到，工作中的挑戰正在磨去她自己的一些稜角。她正在學習更有耐心、更謙卑，也學著適應不同的工作方式。她總結說，上帝正藉著這個項目揭示她的缺點，並讓她重新學習如何與別人合作。

箴言這卷書大部分的內容都是頌揚屬天智慧的寶貴，但這種智慧並非垂手可得，而是需要以順服和洞察力去尋求（3章13節，13章20節，19章20節），並經過鼎、爐、杵、臼的錘鍊（27章21-22節）。這個過程往往伴隨著短暫的痛苦和磨鍊。

但聖經提醒我們，磨鍊會讓人得益處。我們殷勤尋求上帝的智慧並遵守祂的教導，就會得到真正的安穩、滿足和祝福（26-27節）。

Louise, a project manager, regretted taking on the freelance job. Both the client and designer were testing her patience. Why is it so difficult? she wondered. Why can’t these people get it together?

Weeks later, as she read Proverbs 27, verse 17 stood out—“iron sharpens iron.” “You can’t file down rough edges with something soft, like silk,” she told her small group soon after. “You need something hard, like iron.”

Louise realized that the challenges in the project were smoothing down some rough edges of her own. She was learning to be more patient and humble, and to adapt to different working styles. God, she concluded, was using the project to expose her flaws and teach her new lessons about working with others.

Much of the book of Proverbs extols the value of godly wisdom, but this wisdom doesn’t come easily. It needs to be sought after with obedience and discernment (3:13; 13:20; 19:20), and refined in crucibles and furnaces, with mortars and pestles (27:21-22)—situations that may mean temporary pain and suffering.

Yet the Bible reminds us that challenges come with rewards: In seeking God’s wisdom diligently and obeying His ways, we’ll find true security, satisfaction, and blessing (vv. 26-27).