Read through Proverbs in 31 days, Today’s reading is entitled “Trust in God To Provide Wisdom”
Read Proverbs 3 – As you were reading the third chapter of Proverbs today, did a feeling of remorse come over you? Maybe it was because you had forsaken God’s path to go out on your own. Maybe it was because of a remembrance that you have lacked loyalty and kindness towards others. Maybe you have recently chosen your own wisdom over an obvious call of God. In spite of what you may have done yesterday, or even decades ago, there is good news to be gained from today’s scripture reading – belief in God results in favor from Him and your fellow human beings. Along with any personal revelations gained, let’s look at five specific points in Proverbs 3.
- As you trust and fear the Lord and submit to Him, your paths will be made straight.
- For success in life, you should give the firstfruits from everything to God.
- Wisdom is a tree of life, happy are those who tightly embrace her.
- With the Lord as your security, you can go to bed without fear and sleep soundly. There is no fear of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked. He will guide you around the snares of the world.
- Those violent people, fools and mockers, are detestable to God and cursed by Him while the wise, those who choose to follow God’s Will, will inherit honor and His friendship
Good news? Yes, the best news that you can ever hear is that God forgives. Will He only forgive certain things or a certain number of times? Well, you could read a literal interpretation of Matthew 18:22 where Jesus told Peter that he should forgive seventy times seven. Does this mean that if we count up 490 times that someone has been forgiven, that person is no longer deserving of forgiveness? Will 490 times apply only to repetition of one specific offense against someone? Let’s think about this one – if you can remember only seven times that someone has done something, have you forgiven at all? Just like we are called to forgive again and again, God forgives us and casts our transgressions into the sea (read Micah 7:19) as we inherit honor and His friendship.
How many friends do you have? How many of those do you consider to be close, true friends who would do anything for you and the feeling is mutual? As you trust in God, His friendship is deeper than that. He will guide you along the straight and successful paths in life. Is your free will overridden by God’s Will for you? Certainly not. You exercised freedom of choice in committing your life to Him and that freedom remains with every choice made since. Free will remains as you choose to sleep soundly in the comfort provided by God although the many others in this world seem to be panicking over the latest virus paranoia or financial crisis. You can feel God’s protection as you visit and befriend those who live in the local “rough” neighborhoods, exhibiting His love for all people.
You can experience true happiness by embracing God’s Wisdom provided through His Word. As stated above, His Wisdom is a tree of life. What does that mean? As someone who grew up in the south among tall oak trees that have been around for a century or more, the best illustration is the acorns that they drop. Those little acorns, only an inch or so in diameter, have the potential to grow into an oak tree with the ability to withstand the hurricane force winds that pummel the area annually. It is likely that you have heard the tree in the garden of Eden referenced as an apple tree. Maybe it was a tall and stately oak tree and Eve influenced Adam to partake of a handful of acorns. Since we are not told in God’s Word what kind of tree it was, we have the right to envision the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil” as any type of fruit or nut. Do you have security and peace in this life? Are you able to sleep well at night without worrying about what may or may not happen tomorrow? Let’s be honest about this – even the most devout believers in Christ are still human. In our humanity we will occasionally (or more often) fall prey to the worries of this world. Since we are being honest, during the worst of this pandemic my house was in the process of closing. Yes, your author did not get many restful nights during that process which extended well beyond a month. There was not a real concern about the coronavirus or the health of my family, since I know that God is in charge of all things. With this knowledge, why were there sleepless nights ruled by beliefs that the house sale may fall through? Yes, you hit that answer right on the head, we are all human and subject to human failings regardless of the strength of the depth of our faith. As we have already seen today, God knows and forgives all.
