Two things I asked of You, Do not refuse me before I die . . . Proverbs 30:7
I love people who can simplify life for me. It is actually not difficult to make things difficult - people do it all the time. They have a gift for taking something that should be simple - and making it incredibly complicated and hard to understand. Then they charge you money to do what they have made difficult - since now you think there is no way that you can do it yourself. If you are wanting the simple made difficult, this is not a proverb for you. God has this proverb written to help us understand important life principles - and do so in two easy concepts. In future posts I deal with the actual request - but this post I want to deal with the writer and his heart in making the request. The writer here asks two things from God. He has learned the blessing of economy in his relationship with God. There are times for us to expand things out and look at multiple aspects of a live lived for God's glory. and these two things are two principles we should remember to live a happy life and one that is founded on sound biblical footing. This request is vital because the writer says here that these two things are things he does not want God to refuse him before he dies. That is the last thing we can learn from this man - he is passionate about his request. "Do not refuse me before I die!" This is the way the writer expresses the intensity of his desire. Lord, there are definitely two things I have to have. I must have them before I die! There is a passion here that often is missing in ordinary Christians. This guy does not want to end his life without knowing and having walked out two things. We later learn that these two things are to walk in the truth always - and to experience contentment. As he seeks the Lord for these things, he does so with a hunger that is inspiring. Too often in our lives we're not really sure what we're really going after and we are thinking about being committed to getting it - at least we're pretty sure that we are. That is not what we see here. We see a man that knows the importance of walking in truth - and walking with a contentment in what God has given him. He knows one thing - that falsehood does not lead to a good end in life - and that running after this world does not either. He is chasing after something much different and much more satisfying. We learn by verse 9 that what he truly desires is to please and honor God. He wants to live a life that acknowledges God and that will be pleasing to Him in the end. We so desperately need to embrace what this writer is expressing in our lives. Do you know and can you enumerate a few things - no more than three that you absolutely have to have in life? Is there a higher purpose for living in your life than just making it through life? Are you bored - unchallenged by life and the goal for which you are living, or the lack thereof? Make the time to get alone with God and hash out what really matters in your life. Find in Him and in His purposes a reason to live! Than, rather than just having life go by as you watch confused as to its purpose, you can go out every day and agressively give yourself to a purpose that goes far beyond life itself - it goes gloriously into eternity!
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The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage, But everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty. Proverbs 21:5
Planning, to some this word is a blessing - to others (and honestly, I have to say I'm among this number) it is a difficult area of their lives. Yet the Lord has some very pointed things to say here to us about the blessing that comes from diligent planning rather than hastily put together things that happen at the last minute. We read first here that the plans of the diligent surely lead to advantage. The word "plans" will help us to see what is meant here. The word means a thought, purpose, or intention. The idea is that we are thinking through things - considering their purpose and intention - and therefore laying plans that will not only plan an event - but also plan it with a sense of purpose in what it is to accomplish. Here is something which every believer should seriously consider. God has given us the few years we have on this earth as a gift - but also as a responsibility and a trust. How we use these years are important. Do we have a purpose behind the things we are doing? Are they working for us an eternal destiny and an eternal reward - or are we just committing "chonicide" (just killing time). Too many times our lives are just being lived with no real purpose or intention behind what we are doing. That leads to a wasted life. Solomon is telling us that the plans laid with a sense of purpose and intention to live for God's glory and purposes - are beneficial to us. But they are not just haphazard plans - these are plans that are set in place with "diligence." This word means something sharp and industrious. It refers to those people who are living industrious lives that are sharp in their focus and intent. The root word for this referred to a sharp threshing sledge. This was used to cut the harvest - and was sharpened to make the job easier and more effective. One might complain of the time spend with a wetstone or file sharpening the metal. This is hard work after all - and it takes time to sharpen something well. But if you are having to cut entire fields of grain - you know that the few moments spent sharpening your tool can save hours of time and much additional effort. So plans laid by someone who thinks through purpose and intent can make living life much easier and more focused. These kind of plans lead surely to advantage. Here is one of the times when I prefer the King James translation to the NASB. The word here means an abundance. It refers to an abundance of profit, materials, harvest, or whatever the word refers to and modifies. It can also mean advantage or a more favorable position - a superior one to someone who has not planned and thought through their actions. When you plan - you will have abundance and advantage over those who have not thought these things through well. Planning does not negate labor and faithful effort at a task. But it does halp ensure that the labor and effort invested is leading to a desired end. This way of living is compared to someone who is hasty. The hasty man is the one who prefers reacting to life - than planning it. The problem is that reacting to our circumstances can have us being led, not by our purpose and intent, but rather by whatever happens. Circumstances begin being our leader - rather than us seeking to control many of our circumstances by moving in a planned direction and way. When you live this way, the result is poverty. Just as the plans of the diligent man will surely lead to an abundance and advantage - the lack of planning and diligent effort doing something well - will eventually lead us to poverty. God wants us to live on purpose. He does not want us to spend our lives just reacting to whatever happens. We can do much to guide our lives according to His principles if we will just spend time learning them and directing our lives according to them. We will find that God's Word gives us a path - gives us counsel on how to live and how to plan to do things that God desires. This will ensure that we live a life God blesses - not just one that He tries to guide through whatever emergency happens next. To do this - with diligence and purpose . . . is wisdom indeed. A plan in the heart of a man is like deep water, But a man of understanding draws it out. Proverbs 20:5
Like deep, still waters, so the hearts of men can deeply conceal their plans. The word "plan" here is key to understanding this particular proverb. What this word means will govern what we need to learn. The word is "esah" and it means advice or a plan. What helps us most in understanding this word is the comments of Zhodiates who says the following about this word. "It sometimes suggests the idea of a plot." The plots and plans of wicked men are hidden deep in still waters deep within their hearts. Isaiah speaks of these kinds of hidden plans and plots when he says, "Woe to those who deeply hide their plans from the LORD, And whose deeds are done in a dark place, And they say, 'Who sees us?' or 'Who knows us?'" (Isaiah 29:15). Thus we come to understand that this proverb is warning us of the ungodly plots of the wicked. We are told that these plans exist hidden deep within the hearts of the wicked - but a man of understanding will draw them out. This ability belongs only to the "man of understanding." He is the one who possesses the ability to distinguish between the good and bad, true and false, and the forthright and the one whose motives are deeply hidden. This man of understanding has the capacity to look through outward actions and words, and see the hidden places of the human heart. This one does not accept everything at face value alone. He not only estimates their words, but the deep underlying motives and aims that are behind them. It is such wisdom that allows the man of understanding to discern hidden motives or hidden agendas. This is the way that he draws out the hidden plans and plots of the wicked. In the New Testament this Spirit-given ability is called the gift of discernment - or discernment of spirits. It is a wonderful gift God has given to some to see below the surface. They are able to see into the heart by God's grace. What they see allows them to read below those deep waters - and see the real reason something is being said or done. Normally, without the Spirit of God, someone could easily pull the wool over our eyes and deceive us. A plan might be laid that we think is gracious, but actually has harm in store for us. That is when the ability to draw out the plans and plots of men is such a blessing. Proverbs 23:6-8 (NASB)
6 Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, Or desire his delicacies; 7 For as he thinks within himself, so he is. He says to you, "Eat and drink!" But his heart is not with you. 8 You will vomit up the morsel you have eaten, And waste your compliments. Proverbs lays out for us here three verses that warn us of selfish and greedy men. The term used to describe this men is a man of an 'evil eye.' This term is a Hebraism that refers to a man whose eye is set in a way that he is covetous and very selfish when it comes to his money. This guy has evidently made a promise of a sumptuous meal. To break bread with someone in this day was to offer them a meal. And from what we read here - this man is putting quite a the spread before us. It does not only involve putting food before us - but delicacies. Delicacies here is the Hebrew word "mat'am" and it means a very tasty, delicious food. It indicates soemthing like gourmet food or special tidbits and delicacies that were usually only served to the wealthy and influential person. This meal is provided to catch our eye - but dull our sensest. This is not just a Big Mac at Mickie-D's. This would be an entire meal at a fancy restaurant - including a top shelf dessert as well. Why would this man do this? What is even more important though is that God warns us to stay away - and not eat it - and not to be drawn in by the delicacies! We are warned against the desires that arise in us as we look at te delicacies set before us. Again, one might ask, "Why?" The answer lies with the character and the motives of the man who is providing the meal. He has a reason for what He is doing. And according to this passage - his motives are evil, selfish, and self-centered. Let's look a little further at all this as we seek to get all we can from this warning - as well as how all this applies to what we can face from men in THIS generation that use the same tactics. God now reveals to us this man's heart. The motives of his heart are hidden from us and the only way we know them is when God reveals them to us. This man thinks within himself differently than he is acting outwardly. His outward words say, "Eat and drink!" There is every indication that he is all about his hospitality. There is a problem though. His words do not match his heart. Who he is in his heart is who he really is and since his heart is not with us, we should question his true motives. Why would someone provide a great spread like this - and not have their heart in it? The answer to this question is that greed and selfishness are what motivate him. Ever been to a "free meal" or a "free weekend" at a time share? Yeah . . . that's what we're talking about here. We are provided what seems like an innocent and wonderful gift. Problem is the entire time we are enjoying it we are being set up for the real purpose. The gift is given to get something from us! Before the night is over - before the weekend is over - there is going to be a presentation. The reason for all the generosity is that you are supposed to buy something - commit to something. I've been to a free weekend at a resort - and the term "high pressure sales" is an understatement of what I eventually faced. When my "free" weekend was over, I honestly wished I had just paid for my so-called free vacation. That was one of the longest three hours of my entire life. When someone's heart is not with you in providing that great meal or that wonderful weekend; when someone's heart is not with you in giving you those "free tickets" or that gift card for a free meal, you need to know that a the heart is not set on giving, but greed. You are being lured into a way for Mr. Generous to make money in the end. We are told that we will vomit up the morsel we thought we enjoyed. There will be a disgust in our hearts when we eat this man's food. That disgust will only be experienced after we find out the real agenda here. He didn't do this for us . . . He did it for himself. Covetousness and profiteering were the real reason this for Mr. Generosity's gift. In the end you feel like a fool for being tricked into doing something you "normally" would not do. You curse your desires that deadened you to the warnings of the Holy Spirit. Remember my time share story? Oh, how embarassingly this ended. I told myself that I would not buy anything! I was going to be strong - and say NO to everything. Then I'd enjoy the rest of my free vacation and go home. Remember the "high-pressure sales pitch?" Well, in the end, we didn't buy a time share. Instead we paid a ridiculous price for a promised "future" vacation - actually three were promised. I'm not stupid enough to fall for just one! Of course the promised triple play did not quite work out like it was mapped out for us. In fact the entire sitaution was a debacle. In the end - I vomited out the vacation we took - and wished I could take back my compliments about what a "great deal" I had just gotten! Remember this . . . when a selfish, greedy man "gives" you something, he has every intention to more than double or triple what he invested. At least that is my story - and my savings (or lack thereof) is sticking to it! In the end - you feel like a fool for complimenting the generosity of your host. You look at what was provided - and you think that it is wonderful. But the cost in the end - oh the cost in the end - makes you feel like a complete idiot for ever accepting his invitation. You kick yourself for ever getting involved. There are plenty of evil-eyed men out there in the world. They have their plans and their purpose for their pseudo-generosity. But remember that we've been warned by a wise God - and a wise man who walked with God - that there are subversive plans in this pseudo-generosity. The plans of these heartless givers are laid out like a trap for the unwary and the unsuspecting to step into. They want to catch your eye with their delicacies - and keep you from seeing the long-term plan in their ruse of free provision. Believe me when I say that their intention is to make far more than they have given. The truly wise man will see this ahead of time - and avoid even a meal provided by one whose eye is evil - and whose plans are selfish and filled with snares. Righteousness guards the one whose way is blameless, But wickedness subverts the sinner. Proverbs 13:6
If you had a choice, which would you choose in life . . . to be guarded or subverted. What we learn from today's proverb is that we can actually choose which one we experience from day to day. Choose righteousness and you will be guarded - but choose wickedness and you will find your way subverted. Let's take a look at these two choices and their outcomes. It would behoove us to know what righteousness is from time to time in our journey through Proverbs. Righteousness is the Hebrew word "sedaqah" which means to do what is right; to have blameless conduct; and to walk in integrity. The one who embraces righteousness embraces justice, right actions and attitudes, and a lifestyle that will mirror the heart and character of God. We are told here that righteousness will guard us. The word guard means to watch over closely, to hide from evil, and to preserve. When we choose righteousness - the blameless and godly way - the way that mirrors the heart of God, there is a protection and a watch that will be set over us just for doing this. The rest of the Proverb says that righteousness will watch over "the one whose way is blameless." The picture here is of a way or a path. The literal phrase is "blamelessness of way" and it refers to a path that is blameless before God. Choosing biblical and moral integrity will watch for us to keep us on the blameless way. When we walk with God in this way - desiring and choosing righteousness - our very way will be guarded - and it will be a way that God approves and one in which He delights. This is a pretty awful example - but it would be like having a cruise control that warns us when we are about to go out of a way that pleases and honors God. In the New Testament God tells us that He works marvelously in our hearts through the person of the Holy Spirit. He instructs and leads us in the way we should go. He teaches us - but He also rebukes and corrects us when we are about to go astray. Here is the personification of this proverb. God the Holy Spirit will guard us and make sure that we stay on a blameless path before God as we walk through our day. How does He do this? He does it as we focus on righteousness and holiness - when we focus on a lifestyle that will please and honor God. This is the way to walk and have your footsteps guarded each step of the way. You will receive warnings when you are about to misstep. But do not think that this is a life merely of correction and constantly hearing a buzzer when you are about to mess up. This is a life where God the Holy Spirit is changing and conforming us to God's image in Christ. As He does this our heart is changed from stone to flesh. Our desires are also changed and we long to please and to honor Him. We learn to walk - not out of some slavish fear of God's punishment. We learn to please God in all we do - because His transformation of our hearts results in us WANTING to do what He desires. It is a life of joy as we follow Him with all our hearts. The sinner has another path - one that is far less secure. The sinner here is the "chattah" the one missing the mark. The sinner is at fault with God and is failing Him in his choices and desires. It is "wickedness" that is doing this to him. This word describes wrong doing - but it refers to it in the context of rebellion against Yahweh. The sinner misses the mark - because he doesn't even have the right target up when he is shooting. The mark is God's way and God's Law - yet the sinner is in rebellion against God - and thus doesn't even want to obey His commands. This rebellion is what subverts the sinner. Subverts is the Hebrew word "salap" which means to overthrow something, to twist it and to pervert it. It speaks of distorting and misleading someone from what is normal to what is foolish. It refers to bribes that twist government officials to disregard the law. As the foolish man rebels against God Himself - he is guaranteeing that everything will be twisted the wrong way in his life. He misses the mark - and is sure to do nothing but miss it until his heart is changed by the work of God's salvation. Here we have two paths - the way of the one in rebellion against God - the way of the lost man. His way is twisted even before he starts his day - because his days always begin with a heart in rebellion against God. We also have the man who daily chooses righteousness - who chooses God's way. As he does this daily - that very choice - that very mindset and path will protect him and keep him from dozens of wrong choices before his feet ever hit the floor in the morning. God will guard him and keep him and protect him from great sin. There is a way paved before him because he chooses the integrity of holiness and true godliness. We will never know this side of heaven how often our way has been blessed and how many difficulties and sins have been avoided simply because of our salvation. We will be protected simply because we have been saved - our hearts changed - and our paths set toward the blameless way. Praise God for His glorious gift - and his wonderful protection that results from it! Every man's way is right in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the hearts. Proverbs 21:2
Men will rationalize everything and think that their views and choices are right. The Lord tells us that these men consider their way right - in their own eyes. The problem is that our greatest scrutiny is not that of our own eyes - but rather the Lord God who weighs our hearts. God told Samuel, when he was looking at Jesse's sons, not to look at the outside appearance. Jesse was impressed with the size and the look of several of Jesse's sons - yet God was not looking for a well wrapped package - he was interested in the contents - the heart. God's instruction to Samuel that day was that man looks on the outside, but God looks on the heart. The saying goes, "You can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time." There needs to be another phrase added to this saying. "You can't ever fool God." The Lord weighs what is going on in our hearts. The pharisee may look awfully good standing on the street corner praying out loud - but God sees the pride and selfishness of his heart. The giver may make an offering at the temple which sounds and looks impressive to men - but the widow with her two pennies is the one with the most heart in the matter. Oh, how we need to fundamentally distrust what we think is right in our own eyes. It is too easy to be deceived in this matter. Wait for the Lord - search His Word - know His heart and you will find the true measure of any man and any situation. The Word warns us to wait for God's judgment. We are to wait until God weighs in on all things. He is not affected by greed or injustice - He cannot be bought off with bribes or wrongly influenced by flattery - He cannot be misled or deceived. His statements are true statements - and they arise from One who has absolute omniscience - thus we know He does truly know everything. Wait for God's evauation in the end - when every man will receive His praise from God. Until then - trust what the Scriptures say on all matters for a true picture of His mind and what brings joy to His heart. Search them daily and live according to what you find there. That way you will not be deceived into the false evaluation of your own heart - but you will be looking to the One who is right in His estimation of all things. The LORD has made everything for His own purpose, Even the wicked for the day of evil. Proverbs 16:4
Well, here is a proverb that many would rather leave alone. But the good thing about disciplining yourself to walk through the Scriptures is that you have to deal with verses like this one. So . . . let's take a few moments to consider this little bit of wisdom. The first thing we run into is the fact that God made all things. The simplest sense of the Hebrew word "made" is that God is the maker of all things. This comes as a shock to those who hold to evolutionary theory. Yet even their theory does not explain where all things came from - because their theory never explains why matter itself existed. Their theory, whether they realize it or not, has far more to do with their own pride and unwillingness to submit to a god - any god, than it has to do with valid science. The proverb gives the reason why this is so. God has made everything for His purpose! The evolutionist and the atheist chaffe at this statement. They reject God so it is only consistent with their beliefs that they also reject His purposes. Yet, God HAS made everything for His purpose. This world - even as it rebels against God - is fulfilling His ultimate purpose. Oh how angry this makes them. Yet we see at the close of this proverb the most brazen statement yet. Even the wicked are fulfilling God's ultimate purposes when the day of evil comes. This presents to some a very real problem with God. God makes the wicked for the day of evil? That is what this passage says. So the question arises, "Does God make wicked people - is He responsible for wickedness?" The answer to this question is a resounding NO. God is incapable of doing wickedness or evil. He will not - in fact, He cannot sin. Thus this speaks of those who have descended from Adam - who were made after his image and likeness. It refers to God working in spite of the fall of man to accomplish His eternal counsel and plans. He does so in spite of man's wickedness. He is not responsible for it - but He will indeed judge it. Thus even the wicked God works into His purposes. But what is His purpose for them? That is a sobering reality as we see it revealed in Scripture. God's ultimate purposes for those who sin - and then who reject His grace in Jesus Christ - is that they are reserved for the day of evil. This "day of evil" could be just an ordinary day when the just desserts of wickedness are served. But when we consider this view we run into problems because even with the righteous there are days when "bad" things happen to them. This day of evil I believe refers ultimately to the day when God's judgment falls upon them. They rejected God all their lives. They rejected Him with their sinful choices and desires. When God offers forgiveness and grace they reject Him again. They continue rejecting Christ until the day of their death - thus culminating a lifelong wickedness. What remains for them is the day of evil. The day when God brings the ultimate punishment and "bad day" that will last forever. This my dear friend is wisdom. Wisdom is acknowledging God as Creator of all that there is. Wisdom is then realizing that everything He made - though originally made good - is truly messed up due to sin. Wisdom is seeing that sin is not just some ethereal concept - it is a choice. Wisdom is seeing that sin is personal - you've committed it every day of your life by disobeying God's laws and commandments. Wisdom is then realizing God's ultimate purpose by embracing Jesus Christ as His way of paying for sin and providing salvation. Wisdom is receiving the conviction of the Holy Spirit and rejoicing when you are granted repentance and faith! Wisdom is then turning from your sins and trusting Jesus Christ to pay for them with His work on the cross and resurrection! Wisdom is then living for God's purposes all the remaining days of your life - embracing His glory as your ultimate pursuit! Interesting isn't it - how a proverb that seems like a can of worms can wind up being a gracious gift from God? If we will only learn the wisdom of seeing God as the Ultimate - then living for His ultimate purpose and plan. That will be the day when we truly embrace what is wise! Do not weary yourself to gain wealth, Cease from your consideration of it. 5 When you set your eyes on it, it is gone. For wealth certainly makes itself wings Like an eagle that flies toward the heavens. Proverbs 23:4-5
God is not against people becoming wealthy. There are people in the history of the Bible who became wealthy because of God's specific blessing upon them. So God is not "anti-wealth" as some people would suppose. But, He is concerned with how people view money and wealth - and to be more specific how they pursue it. That is where the real danger lies. Don't weary yourself to gain wealth. There is the first principle God puts before us. The word weary means to become weary with work. It indicates that the person is putting forth great effort and exhausting exertion to try to accomplish something. It should probably be noted here that God is for hard work. He wants us to work hard at the things we do. He wants us to offer excellence and effort to our jobs and in the things we do for Him and for others. The Lord is not encouraging laziness here. He is saying that those who put forth exhausting labor with the ultimate goal being to become wealthy are focusing on the wrong goal. I remember working at UPS in Seminary and watching one of my supervisors live this way. His goal in life was to work so hard when he is young, that he could retire when he was 45 as a millionaire. This poor guy was always at work. He had a wife and a couple of kids - but from the way he spoke of them to us - they were just obstacles to him getting where he wanted to go. I've watched men like this who labor so hard to become rich. They reach their goal - but find out that the loss of their marriage and the fact that their kids have no respect for them - costs far more than the millions they have to spend in their old age. Proverbs tells us next that we are to cease from our consideraton of becoming wealthy. An interesting word is used for "consideration" here. It means to think hard about something. The result of this thinking should be a proper discernment of it. But according to what is being said here God is warning us against making wealth the thing we consider and think hard about in life. There are those who constantly chase the illusive goal of being rich. They read books about it - they listen to tapes that promise them the way to get there - they listen to radio shows that promise them that if they do what this man says - they'll be rich. There is even a "chrisitanized" version of this thinking. The health/wealth/prosperity teaching promises that God Himself is nothing but a divine sugar daddy. If we treat Him right - and confess the right things - we'll be rich! Wonder how that works for persecuted Christians behind the bamboo curtain who are in jail for their faith. If they confess the right words and really have faith, they'll get twice the gruel that their cellmate receives? God wants us to have our minds fixed on other things than our own financial bottom line. If we truly had discernment we'd know that our bank account will matter only in how we used it for God's glory. Our "consideration" should be of the Lord Himself and what His will is for us in life. To have a constant consideration of wealth is to waste our minds on things that are not eternal. There is another reason we should not be chasing wealth. That reason is that wealth is often illusive. In the simplest terms - take the example of the guy buying lottery tickets thinking he is going to win and get rich. This proves two things - first, this guy is not very good at Math - and second, he is focused on the wrong things. He thinks that money will solve his problems. If he only took the time to study previous big winners of the lottery he'd learn that it usually causes more problems than it solves. Then there is the person who is chasing the illusive goal of inventing something that will make him rich. Too often the inventions don't pan out and the guy pursuing them for wealth winds up broke - and broken because of his failure to "make it to the big time." Wealth takes wings like an eagle -flying off into the heavens. What a picture for us to remember! This is true in so many ways. What was just covered is one of the ways that wealth takes wings - but there is another that is even more important for us to remember. Ask a rich man how much money he needs to be content. His answer will be, "Just a little more than I have now." That is the most deceptive part of wealth. When we "get there" to our stated goal - we'll find it is not enough to bring peace and satisfaction to us. So, we figure we'll set our goal a little higher - only to find that when we get there we still don't feel satisfied. Some folks spend their entire lives chasing the eagle as it soars higher and higher into the air. They die richer than they ever dreamed - but learning that the dream becomes a nightmare because of the lack of satisfaction in their wealth. One last thing needs to be said of a life spent chasing after wealth and riches. The ultimate bummer for the rich man is when he dies. He leaves everything behind. There are no "rich people" in heaven or hell. The basis of success or ultimate failure has to do with being able to stand before God in the judgment. Jesus tells the story of the rich farmer who has a bumper crop. He wonders what to do with his untold wealth. He finally decides that he will tear down his barns and build bigger ones. Then he will store his abundance and say to his soul that he has much wealth and can rest. Jesus' words here are frightening. He says, "You fool! Tonight your soul is required of you - and how will mere wealth help you?" We can be as wealthy as 10 Solomons - and still find ourselves eternally impoverished if we don't have forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ. We can chase wealth into the heavens like that eagle - only to find that iin the end the descent into infinite poverty lasts not a human lifetime - it lasts for all eternity. Here true wisdom - be rich toward God - that wealth will last beyond what can be stolen or rust away. Commit your works to the LORD And your plans will be established. Proverbs 16:3
Plans . . . we all have them. Some people have detailed plans on just about everything, while others have sketchy plans at best. Where do planning and plans fit in the Christian life? How wise is it to plan and, how do you go about doing it? I doubt if every aspect of planning will be addressed by this proverb, but it is a good place to start. The actual Hebrew word that starts this proverb is "roll." When we commit our works to the Lord, what we are doing is rolling them onto Him. When I hear this word I see a picture of a man trying to roll this huge, heavy object. He is straining himself trying to get this thing rolling and keep it rolling. It is difficult work - and if he ever gets to a hill where he will have to roll it up that hill, he'll never be able to do it. That is us in our lives. We are living from day to day with things that we need to do. God calls us to walk through this life accomplishing these things - yet also calling us to get them done in a way which honors and glorifies Him. I don't know about anyone else, but for me this load is heavy. In fact, it is too heavy for me to bear and to carry. This is why I need to roll this burden and heavy load onto the Lord. What is involved in "rolling your works onto the Lord?" First we ask the Lord what kind of works we should be doing. This is accomplished by spending time in His Word and learning His heart each day we live. We learn what He wants us to be doing - and we go about doing those things to His glory. Second, we turn to Him for the strength to accomplish these works. It is a simple fact that the Christian life cannot be lived in our own strength. It is the life of Christ within us that enables us to live out God's purposes and plans. Third, we commit ourselves to this path and have no plan B. Here is a problem that often crops up in Christians. We are committed to God's plan - until it gets too difficult. When difficulties mount up and become too much for us - then we start looking for a different way - or want to modify God's way. The promise from God is that when we do this, our plans will be established. The plans of our heart need to be established by God. We can seek to establish them here on earth - but then the only promise we have is that they will last until our lives are over - or maybe a generation beyond. They will not last throughout eternity. If our plans are not established and made firm and fixed by God - we will carry nothing into eternity. We will lose it all. Living for our own plans and purposes is a dead-end lifestyle. Such a lifestyle of planning only plans for now - but does nothing for eternity. This counsel from Proverbs helps us make plans that will last - plans that God will approve - and plans that God will establish not only for now - or next week or year - but for all eternity. The plans of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. Proverbs 16:1
To what level is God sovereign in our lives? There are some who think God is not sovereign over their lives - they can do whatever they want. They can plan their lives to the smallest detail without ever consulting with the Lord to make sure that their lives are pleasing to Him. The truth though is something far different. The plans of the heart belong to man is what Proverbs tells us. A man makes plans - and tries to set up how his life is going to be. There are those who make a few plans - and others who have an entire plan-book detailing almost every aspect of their lives. Whichever you are - you make those plans in your heart thinking that if you act on them you will be able to do what you want. But here is where Proverbs tells us something a little different - well - a lot different. The answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Jehovah is the One who determines whether the plans of men are accomplished or whether they just remain plans. God is the ultimate arbiter of all things - if He says this will not happen - it will not happen. But on the flip side of this is a very comforting realization. If God says something IS going to happen - it will just as He said it would. This does place us in choppy waters at times, because men will criticize God for what He allows within the scope of difficulties, disasters, and ungodly behavior. All we can do in these situations is to call upon the revealed character of God as well as His perfect wisdom and wait until the day that all the secrets of men's hearts will be revealed to us. To us life may take on the look of the backside of a tapestry with threads seemingly going all directions in what looks like a helter-skelter pattern. Yet the front of the tapestry reveales His eternal plan which is beautiful in every way. What we are to learn from this Proverb is what James tells us in his letter. When we presume upon God by saying we will do this or that, we are acting in insolent pride. What we need to say is that we will do this or that if God wills it. That is the wise man's stance on these things. There is one last lesson though - and that is we should seek and know God to where what is most important is not the inadvertant ways we may cross God's will with "our" desires, but rather that we would strive to know Him intimately so that "our" desires are submitted to His design at all times. |
Proverb a DayEach day, we'll take a look at a verse from the chapter of Proverbs for the day. Our hope is to gain wisdom each day - and from that wisdom - to have understanding to make godly decisions in the throes of everyday life. Thank you for visiting our website! Everything on this site is offered for free. If, however, you would like to make a donation to help pay for its continued presence on the internet, you can do that by clicking here. The only thing we ask is that you give first to the local church you attend. Thank you!
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