Thursday, March 10, 2016

A Chapter A Day - Proverbs 10


The more I feed myself with spiritual food, the easier it is to not give into my flaws. So I spend daily time in the Word. The other reason is because I truly want to become the person God wants me to be. I want to be salt and light to those around me without being super spiritual - I want to be a witness through my life, my actions, my words.

Proverbs 10 - there's so many nuggets here, I'll just pick a few that stand out to me.


Observations and Highlights

A wise son makes a glad father, but a foolish son brings grief to his mother (v1). Parents ache when they children don't turn out the way we expect them to, based on all that was poured into them. Material things don't make a child wise - you must spend time with your children teaching and modeling morals, values, etc. - principles that start in scripture.

The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry, but he thwarts the craving of the wicked (v3). So simple yet profound. If you trust in the Lord and believe the promises in His Word, you will come to find out the truth of all of His word. You may lose your job but you won't go hungry - friends may provide, the church may step in, you may become more creative or He will send manna from heaven. When the trial is over and you look back you will marvel that what you thought was important was not and greater still you will realize that you and yours were provided for. But it started with trusting and believing what God says about you. You can't call yourself righteous and live otherwise; you have to be righteous - a child of the King.

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth (v4). Don't be afraid of hard work.

Whoever walks in integrity, walks securely (v9) - What is integrity? Doing the right thing even when no one is looking; no need to second guess yourself if you do the right thing.

Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers all wrongs (v12) - learn to get along and be at peace with everyone.

The lips of the righteous nourish many (v 21) - If people know you always speak truth in a way that ministers to them, they seek you out; they want to be around you.

The blessing of the Lord maketh rich and addeth no sorrow... (v 22). This is one of my favorite verses. It doesn't mean that I will become filthy rich or I won't ever be sad, but it means that in His plans He is guiding and directing everything in a way that we cannot comprehend, that ultimately makes sense for us. I held on to this promise as we moved cross country and I hold on to it now as my children are embarking on various stages of their lives.

The fear of the Lord adds length to life (v 27). Godly living enhances the quality of your life. We are all promised 70 years; some of us make it and feel like we have 70 more years and some of us wish that it would all come to an end. Getting old is inevitable and challenging.

From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom (v31). - You're more inclined to listen to a morally upright person, than not - why is that? Because the fruits of their life indicate that they just may be on to something - and you want to know what their "secret" is.

As you embed these proverbs in your heart, realize that they are promises that you can hold to through the many stages of life.

Read on. I really would love to hear your thoughts on some of these Proverbs. Are you familiar with any of them? Did your parents quote them to you? If you have children, are you unwittingly teaching some of these principles to your children? How have these helped you?

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