Knowing God - God's Word is Right

Psalm 33:4

For the word of the LORD is right;

and all his works are done in truth.

God’s Word Is Right

Sometimes we are looking for something that is indisputably right.  Here we see that His Word is right.  When faced with confusion or changing standards, it would do us well to sit down and spend some time just reading through His Word.  When we are exposed to His Word, a sense of rightness can come upon us and our hearts will be settled in the midst of such shifting sands of cultural change and sinful choices.  His works are done in truth.  God never makes a judgment or sends help out of deceit or false intentions.  He works in truth and His ways are to be trusted.  Thank You Lord that ALL your works are done in truth.  We rest in this and trust that what You say and what You do is right and true.  This helps us wade through the perpetual confusion of this fallen world.

Proverbs - Authority

Proverbs 16:10

A divine sentence is in the lips of the king:

his mouth transgresseth not in judgment.

The authority God has over us is divine. He has set those over us to guide us in His ways.  If we would naturally go a certain way then we wouldn’t need people outside of us implementing boundaries and rules that can force us to submit in areas we can be oblivious to.  If our manager asks us to do something then we most likely wouldn’t have chosen that task ourselves.  If our husbands make a decision we must conform to, most likely we weren’t going to include that course in our lives.  This means that the divine sentencing in our lives is often through earthly authority.  We must approach the decisions of those in authority over us with gratefulness and a realization that the Lord might very well be using them to protect us or challenge us in ways we would never have chosen ourselves.  

Proverbs - The Lord Owns Salvation

Psalm 3:8

Salvation belongeth unto the LORD:

thy blessing is upon thy people.

The Lord Owns Salvation

When we need to be saved in a situation, it is the Lord we must look to in those situations that seem overwhelming and where we feel trapped.  He is able to deliver and salvation belongs to the Lord.  He is waiting for us to lift up our voices and anticipate His salvation that He might receive the glory.  His name is Savior and He is true to His name.  His blessing is upon those of us who are His people.  We can face difficult times knowing He saves and His blessing is upon us.  Don’t allow the intimidation of circumstances to tell you that He has not blessed you – His blessing IS upon you and salvation belongs to the Lord.

Proverbs - The Lord Directs

Proverbs 16:9

 A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps.

Oftentimes we have ideas and plans that enter our hearts.  We bring these before the Lord and we seek Him to direct our steps.  The steps are the outward manifestation of the inward ideas.  In order to reach a destination we have to travel.  The Lord wants to direct each step of the ideas that come into our hearts.  We should acknowledge Him in all of our ways and be sensitive to the leading of His Holy Spirit.  He will tell us what to do first, what is not important and what is a priority.  As He led His people through the wilderness, the Lord continues to be the One who can lead us through each of our days.  We must not be stubborn on the way we like to approach things but be flexible and yielding to His leading.  He knows of obstacles and opportunities we might be blind to.  Oh Lord, lead us in Your ways.  Show us how to carry out the ideas and plans You put in our hearts.

Knowing God - The Lord Has Already Won

Psalm 3:7

Arise, O LORD; save me, O my God:

for thou hast smitten all mine enemies upon the cheek bone;

thou hast broken the teeth of the ungodly.

The Lord Has Already Won

The Lord moves from a position of victory.  At the cross, Jesus Christ conquered sin and its eternal consequences.  We can cry out now to the God who saves because He has paid the highest price for deliverance by giving Jesus Christ.  He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not freely give us all things?  He has been faithful to help us in the past; He will be faithful to help us now.  He is the same yesterday, today and forever….

Proverbs - Better is a Little

Proverbs 16:8

                                                                           

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues without right.

The Lord is good to tell us what is better when we are often deceived in our estimation of values.  If we are tempted to get something by doing something deceptively or lazily we must reject this and realize that it is way better to end up with less in our pockets and more treasures in heaven.  We can’t just resign ourselves that we missed out on some gain by doing what is right.  We must believe that it is better that we did what was right.  Besides, when our conscience is filled with guilt it is difficult to enjoy that which we were not supposed to have anyways.  If we have to use unrighteousness to get something it was not the Lord’s will for us to have it and the joy of the gift will not be there.  If you have done this, seek to restore the gain and free yourself of this wrongdoing.

Knowing God - God Sustains Us As We Sleep

Psalm 3:5

I laid me down and slept;

I awaked; for the LORD sustained me.

God Sustains Us As We Sleep

As we sleep, our God sustains us.  He keeps our hearts beating, our respiratory system in check, our endocrine system in balance, our digestive system flowing etc. He gives our mind a chance to rest and sustains us as we rest and gain perspective for what awaits us as we awaken.  We can go to bed thanking Him for sustaining us as we sleep and we can get out of bed thanking Him that He sustained us as we slept.  Our God never slumbers or sleeps.  He is over us and the time that we are most vulnerable, while sleeping, He sustains us and holds us up.  He will do no less when we are awake.

Proverbs - Making Peace with Our Enemies

Proverbs 16:7

 When a man's ways please the Lord, he maketh

even his enemies to be at peace with him.

When we have conflict with people our first response is usually associated with how to react in the relationship.  We are directed here to turn our eyes up and seek to please the Lord in our lives.  Conflict can entrap us and distract us from what the Lord is calling us to do.  We must be careful to have our daily devotions when human conflict arises.  When there is conflict with our husbands, children or other people, we must position ourselves to hear from God and do what pleases Him.  This means not only pleasing Him in the relationships in which we have conflict but also in all the areas of our lives.  We are not promised we won’t have enemies but when our ways please the Lord we will at least have peace with them.

Knowing God - He Hears Our Voices

Psalm 3:4

I cried unto the LORD with my voice,

 and he heard me out of his holy hill. Selah.

The Lord Hears our Voices

The Lord hears us when we talk to Him.  Although He is holy and is above all He hears us.  When we pray He hears us from a place that is free from the confusion we might find ourselves in.  We can pray and trust that we are heard.  It is important to be a person who prays with a confidence that He hears us so that our prayers are prayers of faith.  Faith that doesn’t just believe we have what we ask but that we are heard.  When we are heard we are less demanding on others.  The next time you pray, before you say ‘amen’, you might try thanking Him that He has just heard you and that you have a God who hears you out of His holy hill.

Proverbs - Purging Sin!

Proverbs 16:6

By mercy and truth iniquity is purged;

and by the fear of the Lord men depart from evil.

There is a very important truth here.  The Lord is telling us how might affect sin.  Here we are told that there are two things we should do when confronting sin – in ourselves and others.  These two responses must be put together to bring out the purging that we want.  These two ingredients are mercy and truth. 

Mercy is listed first.  Mercy involves not dealing out judgment with penalties.  Mercy is being able to see how harshly something should be dealt with but choosing to give less than what is deserved.  It is an attitude of forgiveness.

Truth is looking at something for what is according to God’s judgment.  If we want to deal with sin we have to see it for what God says it is.  No excuses.  No compromise.  Call it what it is. 

If we can look at things in the harsh reality of what God says it is and yet extend forgiveness we can see sin purged.  If we are committing the sin of gluttony, eating when we are not hungry, we must confess this as sin and thus use truth.  We can then receive the forgiveness God gives us in Christ and know that He wants us to start afresh – that’s mercy.  If someone sins against us, we can look at it for what it is and then we can extend forgiveness to them.  We might have to talk it over with them but with a heart of mercy.  This gives those around us a lot of room to grow with mercy and truth.

Knowing God - He Lifts Our Heads

Psalm 3:3

But thou, O LORD, art….the lifter up of mine head.

The Lord Lifts Our Heads

                         

Here the psalmist is telling the Lord who He is.  Why?  Because the Lord needs to know?  NO! He is reminding himself of who the Lord is to him.  We so need to do this.  We must be familiar with who the Lord is that we might rely upon Him for those qualities.  Here we see that the Lord is the lifter of our heads.  Have you ever felt like it was difficult to hold your head up?  Have you hung your head in shame when you found yourself convicted by His Holy Spirit of something you’ve done that grieved your God?  Have you ever hung your head after being torn apart by judgments or words of others?  Have you ever hung your head in weariness seeing someone you love take a course that might end up in ravaging consequences?  The Lord is the lifter of your head!  He is able to make us look up to Him and see that He is bigger than that which is attempting to pull us down.  He could send a song, a phone call, a smile, a promise, a friend or some other source that will gently lift your head upwards to His presence and gentle eyes of hope.  Thank Him today for being the lifter of your head and watch how He might do it.

Proverbs - Majority Does NOT Rule

Proverbs 16:5

 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord:

though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

When people vote on something they can think that they are right.  The majority does not determine righteousness.  Sometimes the most charismatic and influential people can steer opinion in a direction that is contrary to the Lord.  With the humble there is wisdom and an ability to choose what is right apart from others agreeing with us.  When we are making decision in arrogance, something within us wants to get affirmation from others.  When we are doing what is right in the eyes of the Lord, we can stand alone.  It is important for us to submit these choices to the Lord and believe He is pleased in order to stand up against ‘hand joining in hand’.

Knowing God - He is Our Glory

Psalm 3:3

But thou, O LORD, art …..

my glory,….

The Lord is My Glory

The Lord is my glory.  The Lord is what makes me to shine and allows me to have light in a situation.  The Lord is the One who is able to make us come through the battles we face, shining and triumphant.  Without Him, we will be cast down, faces filled with shame and defeated.  With Him, we will have our faces lit, confidence and victory in the battle.  He is our glory.  It is not within us to face such things we see.  Of course we don’t like it!  Of course, we grow weary!  We need the Lord to be our glory and He desires to fight the battle for us and with us.  Be glorified Lord in whatever we face today!

Proverbs - We Are Made for Him

Proverbs 16:4

The Lord hath made all things for himself:

yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

It is a sobering fact to consider that we are products of a Creator and His plans and purposes.  Oftentimes we live our lives like they are our own and our understanding is to be satisfied when we examine life and its events.  We are the created ones and it is very much our responsibility to humble ourselves before Him and seek His purposes for our existence.  All that we see and all that we own is here for Him.  Until we realize this we will find our lives rather empty and unfulfilling.  When we submit ourselves to Him and even trust that the wicked things that have happened to us are intended to accomplish His purposes, things start to come together and our days become filled with hope and life.  If your plans have excluded this important perspective, take time to recommit all that you are, all that you have and all that has happened to you, to a faithful and powerful Creator.

Knowing God - He is a Shield

Psalm 3:3

But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; ….

The Lord is a Shield

The Lord is a shield.  He is not only a shield but He is a shield for me and a shield for you.  He stands between us and any sort of ammunition being directed at us.  Things may be rough around us but God is between us and the direct impact of those things thrown at us. The warfare may continue but we are protected when we place the Lord before us and allow Him to absorb the painful hits coming our way.  Stay close to Him and see how He will give you the ability to face the toughest situations when He is between you and that which comes against you.

Proverbs - Thinking Well

Proverbs 16:3

 Commit thy works unto the Lord,

and thy thoughts shall be established.

Our society emphasizes the proper mindset in order to be successful in our pursuits.   Here, the Lord is telling us just the opposite.   He is instructing us to commit our works, all that we do, unto Him and then our thoughts will be established.  We will think the way He wants us to think.  As we go throughout our day, grocery shopping, running errands, cooking dinner, preparing that report, let us consciously commit these things to Him for His glory and watch our thinking become settled and not so scattered!

Knowing God - The Lord Desires Worship

Psalm 2:12

Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way,

when his wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.

The Lord Desires Worship

The Lord desires expression of love and worship from us.  It can actually kindle His wrath when we don’t give Him the glory due His name.  To kiss the Lord is to connect with Him in an intimate and deliberate way.  It is to really worship Him and admire Him.  It is to let Him know all that we find beautiful about Him and to make those attributes the object of our affection in Him.  He wants us to be close to Him.   He created us for His pleasure. When we worship Him and shower Him with praise we are establishing His position of glory and our position of safety.

Proverbs - He Weights the Spirits

Proverbs 16:2

 All the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes;

but the Lord weigheth the spirits.

We tend to think we are right when we evaluate our actions and deeds against our own criteria.  If we didn’t we probably wouldn’t choose what we choose.  The Lord weighs our spirits.   He checks our hearts and deep rooted motivations or deceptions we might have within us.  When we are seeking to please the Lord with our ways, we should ask Him to help us be open to His evaluation of our spirits.  Instead of always bringing our actions before Him, let us approach Him with a desire to be searched and diagnosed deep within our frame.  He is able to find and correct things we might never have known existed.  His Word is like a surgeon’s tool and is able to divide the thoughts and intents of our hearts.  Ladies, as we acknowledge Him in all our ways today, be open to what He says about our inner man.   How our Lord loves us and desires such truth in our inner parts.

Proverbs - Answers

Proverbs 16:1

 The preparations of the heart in man,

and the answer of the tongue, is from the Lord.

As believers, our hearts are under the influence of the Lord.  Sometimes when we are pondering something and plans begin to enter in, the Lord, Himself, is breathing His purposes into us.  We ought not to dismiss the ideas that arise without asking the Lord if this is from Him.  When we are asked to do something or be a part of something, we should listen with our spirits to give the answer from the Lord.  Our answers are not to be based on our own desires or limitations.  The answer we are supposed to give is from the Lord.  The next time you are asked something, be sensitive to the preparations of the heart.  See what you have read His Word or have been stirred up about.  Consider that your answer will direct your course and we know that His course for us is the one we should be walking on.

Knowing God - The Lord Instructs

Psalm 2:10

Be wise now therefore, O ye kings:

be instructed, ye judges of the earth.

The Lord Instructs

We see in this verse that the Lord wants to instruct and give wisdom to people who are in a place of leadership here on this earth.  Mothers, the Lord wants you to be in a place of instruction as He teaches you how to love, raise and bring up these children.  Woman of influence, the Lord desires you to have the wisdom to handle your position in a way that your decisions are guided by His hand and mind.  Woman of authority, the Lord wants you to be able to manage tasks and people with the heart and ideas He wants to give you.  Let us be women who don’t settle with the amount of wisdom and instruction we have up to this point but continue to stay in a place of being teachable and humble increasing in our abilities in the positions He has us in.

Knowing God - He Looks Out for the Vulnerable

Psalm 5:18

To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,

that the man of the earth may no more oppress.

The Lord Looks Out For the Vulnerable

The Lord’s eyes are upon those who are vulnerable and He will judge their situations.  Why does He do this?  He does this because He does not want those who oppress to continue taking advantage of the weak.  We see news reports of those who have been victimized and our hearts are wrenched.  The Lord’s heart is purer than ours and He does not sit idly by.  He is judging and bringing these things to light.  Those who have no authority and those who have authority that is oppressive are equally in His sight and He is not sleeping.  The Lord is working and He cares for those who are being taken advantage of.  Our God will execute judgment in order to stop people from oppressing others.

Proverbs - The Fear of the Lord

Proverbs 15:33        

 The fear of the LORD is the instruction of wisdom;

and before honour is humility.

True humility will only be in us when we have the fear of the Lord.  The fear of the Lord is clean and allows us to focus on one authoritative voice.  This allows us to bring the confusing circumstances we face with all of the different voices telling us what to do, to a God whose judgment is right and final.  We need to be in a place where obedience to Him is all we are seeking in a situation and we are more concerned with His leading than anyone else’s response or reaction to our decisions.  When we approach Him seeking to do what He wants us to do we will hear instruction so much more clearly than when we come before Him seeking to please everyone involved.  We must be willing to be ridiculed or judged in order to follow through with the Lord’s leading.  This is humility and it will result in honor.

Knowing God - He Hears Our Desires

Psalm 5:17

LORD, thou hast heard the desire of the humble: thou wilt prepare their heart, thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:

The Lord Hears Our Desires

It is a marvelous thing that the Lord hears desires – even if we don’t verbalize them.  Note that He hears the desires of the humble.  How precious!  As we humble ourselves under His mighty hand and have a thankful heart for all He has done, He hears our desires and prepares our hearts.  God knows if we have a desire for some time alone or time with friends.  He knows whether we desire a new pair of earrings or organizational skills.  He knows if we desire time with our children or more opportunities to serve Him with our gifts.  We don’t need to feel alone or not heard.  Having a God who not only hears our prayers but our desires should give us a great sense of being understood and tended to.  The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want.

Proverbs - Admitting We Are Wrong

Proverbs 15:31-32   

 The ear that heareth the reproof of life abideth among the wise.

 He that refuseth instruction despiseth his own soul:

 but he that heareth reproof getteth understanding.

As followers of Christ, we have made ourselves correctable.   When we realized that we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, we acknowledged that truly we have done wrong.   If we are women who know we have done wrong, we should remain in a place of correction.  Those people the Lord puts around us may have insight into us that we cannot see.  By listening to correction and instruction, we will be those wise women building our homes up to code.  A humble mind will bow before correction, asking the Lord to show us if it is true and how He would have us respond.

Reproof is pointing out what is wrong and instruction is showing how to get it right.  These are two forms of parenting that should be the “Siamese twins” of correction.  When we tell our children what they have done wrong, we must seek to instruct them in the way that is right, exemplifying by our lives being one who hears reproof and does not refuse instruction.

Knowing God - He is King Forever

Psalm 5:16

The LORD is King for ever and ever:

the heathen are perished out of his land.

Our God Is King Forever

Kingdoms fall and kingdoms cease.  A king may die and another take his place.  A king may be dethroned because of another kingdom’s takeover, but our God is King forever and ever.  It doesn’t matter if people ignore Him or choose to believe that He is not King – He is still King forever and ever.  Since we know He is King, it would make great sense to submit to Him in all areas of our lives and enjoy the stability of His position and authority.  It doesn’t matter if there are votes against His law or cultural trends that despise His standard – He is King forever and ever.  Those who are His, will see Him on His throne and those who are His, enjoy Him on the throne in this present life.  Bring Him honor.  Bring Him praise.  Worship the King.  Trust the King.  Seek the wisdom of the King and enjoy having a King who has all might, resources and love to rule and reign in your life!

Proverbs - Our Eyes

Proverbs 15:30        

The light of the eyes rejoiceth the heart:

and a good report maketh the bones fat.

How we look at things and what we listen to affects our inner man.  Our heart is the seat of our affection and emotions.  Our bones represent our frame and ability to stand and weather the things of life.  In this verse the Lord lets us know that a good perspective will fight depression and troubled hearts.  What are we looking at?  What articles are we reading?  What shows are we watching?  How are we looking at others?  Our eyes are often the window to our souls and let in the images our mind thinks on.  I will set no evil thing before my eyes.  I will choose to look at people and situations through the eyes of Your Word and counsel. 

When we hear troubling reports or judgments on people, our frame can start to weaken and our quality of life seems to diminish.  When we hear of all the Lord is doing in someone’s life or a great report about someone, we enjoy our relationships and desire to invest in people.  Let us be careful what we say about people and situations and let us have great caution in what we listen to.  Our bones need to be strengthened to support a good posture in the face of all we experience day to day.

Knowing God - He Sees it All

Proverbs 5:14

Thou hast seen it; for thou beholdest mischief and spite,…

The Lord Sees It All

Everything is plain before our God’s eyes.  He sees the mischief and the spite.  In this verse, we learn that God sees the mischief and spite someone has against us.  Nothing is hidden from Him.  He knows the hearts of those that surround us and we mustn’t panic or scheme to discover others’ thoughts towards us.  The Lord knows these things and He is our defense.  We ought to rather focus on pleasing Him alone and trusting Him to protect and defend us.  This makes life so much less complicated and we won’t be so troubled by the hostilities of others.  He sees and He knows how to handle it.

Proverbs - He Hears Our Prayer

Proverbs 15:29        

 The LORD is far from the wicked: but he heareth the prayer of the righteous.

Sometimes when we are in a conversation with someone we consider ourselves heard when they answer us back.  We can have this same sort of expectation on the Lord.  If we don’t recognize Him answering our prayers we may come to the dangerous and erroneous conclusion that He is not listening.  This is not true.  If we are righteous in His sight because of the blood of Christ and our conscience is open to Him and clear, we are heard.  The quietness we may discern is not an apathy or indifference but a God who is not shaken or moved by what we share.  His ear is tuned to us and the stillness is a place of rest knowing He hears and will respond with answers and not just understanding.  Wait on the Lord.  He will strengthen your heart and He is listening.