Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “God Knows Your Soul Completely”
Read Proverbs 24 – It is truly interesting to prove how applicable the scriptures can be to modern life. At this point in the year 2020, the world is hopefully ending the mass panic approach to a virus outbreak. In verse 10 of today’s reading we see that those who lack the strength of God will easily faint under the pressure that this world can create. Can there be any more pressure than the fear of leaving your house? Can anything create more anxiety than the loss of freedoms that have accompanied every day of your life? It is your author’s opinion that the response to this health threat was inspired by a lack of peace caused by no knowledge of the Peace-Giver. Keep in mind that we serve an omniscient God. This all-knowing ability means that He knows even the hearts and minds of those who choose to run from him.
Read the proverbs for today, apply that knowledge in your life and show the doubters what they are missing.
- Don’t associate with evil people because their hearts desire violence and trouble.
- Wisdom overcomes physical strength because knowledge helps the wise in their growth, victory is granted through the advice of many.
- If you fall under the pressures of life, you need God to get you through them. Save those who have been unjustly accused, even if it is through a last minute reprieve.
- Fear and worship God. Shun the evildoers because their disastrous punishment from God may come suddenly. Be sure to be fair and impartial in your judgments.
- Be honest in all of your dealings, do your planning and preparation before building your house.
Loss of freedoms. That sounds quite a bit like the consequences of being caught in the commission of s crime. By choosing friends who commit crimes and also participating in those crimes, the chance of losing daily freedoms is greatly increased. Be wise in choosing those friends, ask and heed the advice of those who have “been there already.” Are thoughts rolling through your mind that indicate it is too late? The effect of choices already made cannot be forgiven or reversed? You may have heard the story of the farmer who put nails in the barn door every time his son disobeyed. When the son finally asked forgiveness and chose to begin obeying his father, the nails were removed but the holes remained. The point behind that story is that forgiveness of sin will happen even though the physical effects of that sin may remain.
Have you always stood tall against any foe that life can send your way? If so, good for you. For the rest of us, we need to ask for God’s guidance often. Yes, we will sometimes fail to heed that advice and falter because of it. We may even have periods of running away from God, like Jonah, but eventually accept His path after what may be called a “2×4 experience.” What does that mean? Read Acts 9 about Saul’s conversion. Whether he was knocked off a horse or disabled so he fell to the ground as he was walking, God was able to get his attention. It is that type of 2×4 experience that God may choose to get our attention during those times when we have strayed from Him. We have a truly interesting combination of advice in today’s lesson – you should shun evildoers while being fair and impartial in your judgments. How do we make our best effort to follow this guidance? When you think about this from a scriptural view, the answer should come rather easily after asking yourself WWJD. In case your mind didn’t immediately interpret – that is What Would Jesus Do. Jesus would acknowledge sin for exactly what it was while giving the opportunity to the sinner to repent of that sin. True repentance would result in equally true forgiveness while turning from Him to follow the sinful path laid out by the world results in a life void of His peace. Can you think of anything more honest, fair and impartial than maintaining a willingness to forgive those who have wronged you?
