Knowing God - The Lord's Voice Produces Stable Ground

Gen 1:9

 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

The Lord’s Voice Produces Stable Ground

When God created the earth as we know it, He spoke things into being and He spoke things into placement.  God’s Word was used to create and establish boundaries.  The words of God moved the waters into one place and allowed the dry land to appear making inhabitable places for man He was to create.  God’s Word still has this power and authority today.  He can speak to those things in our lives that, like the waters, may be covering things that have great potential and the ability to cultivate and enjoy.  When we place ourselves in His Word, whether by individual reading and studying or with other believers under pastoral teacher, we invite God to speak to things in our lives and make them take their proper place.  Our lives can be so overwhelmed by the waters of responsibility, affliction or other floods of events that we may find ourselves drifting and unable to stand.  The Word of God will move those things over in our perspective of reality enabling us to stand and look at them without being drowned or moved by them.

Proverbs - Lies and Treasures

Proverbs 21:6

The getting of treasures by a lying tongue is a

vanity tossed to and fro of them that seek death.

Sometimes the truth will cost us money.  When we have to point out to a clerk they undercharged us or that, in fact, gave us back too much change, we will lose financially.  This is where we find out what god we serve.  Our God does not allow us the getting of treasures by a lying tongue.  He warns us that if we are dishonest in financial matters we will be tossed back and forth seeking death.  Oh how He loves for His people to represent Him, the Truth, in all their ways.  He is glorified in those who are in a place where His value system is of far greater worth than the greatest dollar amount imaginable.  We will be tempted to do this and we must open our eyes and find the way of escape.  We will feel the benefit of our gain and be tempted to believe it is worth it.  It is not!  Our tongues are intended to speak things that keep us in the light.  When we speak the truth we can discern His will in financial dealings so much easier.  When we lie, we cloud our ability to know if the path taken is from our loving God or perhaps something intended to choke His life out of us.  Lord, help us value pleasing you more than any treasure offered.

Knowing God - God Directs Our Emotions

Jer 31:16

Thus saith the Lord; Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears: for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

                                                                                               

The Lord is telling Jeremiah to stop crying.  Jeremiah often wept at the state of God’s people and the unnecessary trials and devastation they went through due to their neglect of the covenant they had with the Lord.  Here the Lord is saying that there is a time to stop crying and look forward with confidence that they will return to Him.  There is a time to cry and there is a time to mourn.  The Lord will tell us when these responses are good and appropriate.  Perhaps you are weeping when you should praise.  Perhaps you might be crying when you are supposed to be standing in confidence.  Listen to your God.  He has made our emotions and He knows what sort of expression is appropriate and beneficial for the situation you are facing.  Our God is a God who can counsel us even when we should weep and when we ought not.

Proverbs - Diligence Produces Good Thoughts

Proverbs 21:5

The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness;

 but of every one that is hasty only to want.

In order to abound with plenteousness we are instructed to be diligent women.  Plenteousness means plenty - plenty of time, plenty of resources, plenty of ideas and plenty of means.  Here we see that our work ethic will actually produce a right way of thinking that leans towards being able to see bounty where otherwise we might not recognize it.  When we take our thoughts and plans to the Lord and work hard in what we do, we become women who come up with ideas we are not too lazy to try.  The opposite is true as well.  If we are lazy we tend to be hasty.  We charge this or put a halfhearted effort into that and we end up wanting or lacking.  Remember that our diligence in matters helps us have a good mind that can see all that the Lord has given us.  Remember that if we are hasty or impulsive we are going to lack in the long run.

Knowing God - The Lord Opens Eyes

2 Kings 6:17

And Elisha prayed, and said, Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.

The Lord Opens Eyes

Elisha could see something that the young man couldn’t.  How often the ‘young men’ in our lives can’t see what we may see.  Instead of trying to persuade the young man to see it, Elisha prayed.  Then, the Lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw.  Our God is able to open eyes to see things that they couldn’t see before.  He illuminates perspectives and spotlights things that are often hidden in the shadows of distraction and deceit.  The Lord heard Elisha’s prayer for this young man and He will hear ours as we ask Him to open the eyes of those we love.  What a faithful and personal God we serve.  May He open our eyes and those around us to all that He is and is doing in our lives! 

Proverbs - These Three Things

Proverbs 21:4

                              

An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

We are told that these three things are sin.  What are these three things? 

I.  A high look

·        A high look is a haughty look.  This can be in our facial expressions or even in a tone of our voice.

·        We mustn’t look down on people for any reason.  We shouldn’t look down on people because of their weaknesses. 

2.  A proud heart

·        The meditations of our heart can be downright ugly.  We can have a heart that measures all others against our own standards and be deceived in that our heart is not right against God’s standards.

·        A proud heart exalts its case and is consumed with its own injuries and wounds at the expense of being concerned about others and pleasing God.

3.  The plowing of the wicked.

·        Plowing is digging up dirt to plant seed.  The wicked like to take good ground and break it up so that it becomes vulnerable to wicked suggestions.

·        We must not partner with this cause and stir up problems to make our homes or people vulnerable to demonic suggestion and ideas.

Sin results in death.  This could be death of a sweet moment, death in a relationship or if continued in without changing – eternal death.  Oh Lord, help us have a humble look, a lowly heart and a settling effect on those around us.  Let us be like You, Lord Jesus.  You were God but you humbled yourself to be a servant.  Help us walk in our day with a heart that seeks to serve and the ability to speak to winds and storms around us bringing a calm and stillness so that others can hear Your voice and rest in you. 

Knowing God - He Speaks Through the Prophets

Dan 9:10

Neither have we obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

The voice of the Lord is equated with the laws He set before His people through His messengers.  Do you need to hear His voice? Read His Word aloud.  Do you need His voice to reassure you that you are going in the right direction?  Do what His written Word says.  Do you need to hear His voice calm you and comfort you?  Take His Word into your heart and value His written Word’s promises.  Do you need to have His voice give you direction?  Observe what His written Word says you should do.  The voice of the Lord is set before us and beckons us to walk in the direction from which we hear it.  We hear His voice through the voice of those He has sent.  

Proverbs- Better Than Sacrifice

Proverbs 21:3

To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.

Sometimes we can overreact to a situation and not give the appropriate judgment or response.  When we come down hard on our children or husband and then find out that we actually misjudged the facts, we may be inclined to make it up to them.  Maybe we give our child more computer time, or cozy up to our husbands and try to sacrifice something to make up for our poor judgment.  They would much rather want us to react with good justice and judgment the first time than try to make up for it with sacrifice. 

This is how the Lord looks at things too.  Sacrifices were given to the Jewish people by the Lord to cover sins that they would commit.  These were given to provide a way to get things right but never to become that which should be an excuse to do things wrong.  Even the finished work of Jesus Christ which does more than cover our sins, but cleanses them, is not to be treated so lightly as to excuse a casual attitude towards judgment and justice.  The blood of Christ is made available to us and yet it is such a costly provision we don’t want to spend it recklessly upon the debt of sin incurred in careless actions. The Lord desires us to seek to do justice and judgment in all the matters we face and this is acceptable to the Lord.  

Proverbs - He Ponders Our Hearts

Proverbs 21:2

Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.

To know that we generally think our decisions are good is wise to know.  Every way of our lives seems right when we evaluate them according to our own understanding.  This warns us that our judgment and evaluation is not always true to the core.  Here the Lord tells us that the Lord ponders the hearts. The word ponders here means to balance or measure out by weight or dimension. The Lord puts our hearts on a scale and measures them by His own value system.  We must not just bring our actions before Him, but keep our hearts sensitive to the Lord’s value system.  When the Lord measures our hearts He weighs the weight and measures the dimension.  He looks at what is heavy on our hearts and how much we open or close our hearts to the things that are before us. .  A great place to be is in a place where we are crying out the Lord to search our hearts and cause us have hearts that are like His.  Taking the time to sit before the Lord when we make that meal, or clean the house and ask the Lord to weigh our hearts and put in what we need and take out what shouldn't be there.  Our God is able to show us things within us that we might not know are there.  He is able to help us not be hard on ourselves when we have weights that are too much and to move upon us when our hearts are neglecting weightier matters.  Let us not trust our own eyes, let us spend the time to quiet our evaluations and listen for the Lord’s evaluations. His scales are always balanced and His judgments are righteous.

Knowing God - He is Our Dwelling Place

Ps 90:1

Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations.

The Lord is not just a God we connect WITH, but a God we can run INTO.  He has been a dwelling place for all generations.  He has been available for everyone to go into and live and move and have their very existence IN Him.  The place in which we dwell is to be considered home, safe and the place from which we gain fortitude and positioning.  The Lord, Himself, is to be that dwelling place.  We are not to visit God as if He were a distant relative we see on certain holidays or if we happen to be in the vicinity of their dwelling place.  We must dwell in the Lord.  Move in and stay there.  Explore every room.  Enjoy every square inch and find that His love and ways are unsearchable.  We will never exhaust the discoveries of His great love, wisdom and companionship.  Oh Lord, be the dwelling place for us and our children as You have been for every generation!

Proverbs - Those Who Rule Over You

Proverbs 21:1

The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.

                              

Authority is directly under the influence of the Lord.  We must remember that our God is the King of kings and He is over all that are over all.  This does not mean that those in authority always make godly decisions but because the king’s heart is in the hand of the Lord, God will use their decisions for His purposes.  Our God is able to take any sort of decision and work it together for good. Like a river can go around obstacles and continue its course, the Lord takes His purposes around the stones of a king’s decisions and brings His will to its final end. This is why we must not resent authority but embrace the decisions that are handed down as tools in our God’s hand.  Our husbands, pastors, managers and even police officers are in the hand of the Lord.  When a certain boundary or restriction is put upon us, it would be good for us to present it to the Lord seeking how He wants to use it for our good.  This way we do not have to resist authority or feel helpless in the ramifications of authority’s decrees.  We can sense the safety and supremacy of our Lord.  We should pray for authority and then, unless they ask us to do something contrary to God’s Word, submit to their leadership trusting our Lord’s ability to use them to take us places we might never have gone without them. 

Knowing God - He is Not Moved by Analysis

Mark 3:2

 And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him.

The people were watching Jesus to see if He would heal a man on the Sabbath.  They were not watching to see if this man would be blessed.  They were not watching in order to see the power of God.  They were watching that they might accuse him.  Jesus continued doing what He was called to do regardless of what the people around Him were going to do in response.  Jesus wasn’t steered by the motivations or judgments of others.  Jesus was focused on pleasing the Father and loving people.  He was not concerned about His reputation in the light of those who were figuring Him out.  The Lord was focused on doing what the Father led Him to do and would not allow the judgments and opinions of others to change His course or actions.  Our God is firm and focused.  He is not threatened by theological analysis.  He is not shaken by hermeneutical scrutiny.  He is not interrupted by the general sway of public opinion.  Our God is a rock.  He is a God who has done what He has done, is doing what He is doing and will do what He will do.  We have a God who is firmly focused and faithful.

Proverbs - The Blueness of a Wound

Proverbs 20:30

The blueness of a wound cleanseth away evil:

so do stripes the inward parts of the belly.

Wounds hurt.  We don’t particularly like to be wounded but wounds help our priorities.  We can become rather insensitive and distracted when we don’t feel things.  Even feeling pain, keeps us tender and open to others’ affliction and often cleanses away those things that are unimportant and temporal.  We read of the psalmist’s declaration that “It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.” (Ps.119:71)  When we are hurting we cry out to the Lord and we set our eyes on Him.  Our intentions become more pure and our heart is not divided between a multitude of pursuits.  We need to let the afflictions we face work a cleansing work within us.  We should bring our wounds to the Lord and ask Him to use them to do a redeeming work in us.  “Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.” (Ps 119:67)

Knowing God - He Receives Us

Ps 49:15

 But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah.

Grave has a power – the power of death, but God will redeem our souls from the power of the grave.  Death is an enemy that comes and tries to conquer.  It looms over every human in an intimidating and threatening way.  Our God is not intimidated by death.  He, Himself, went through death and conquered it on our behalf to show us that even death, is no match for our God.  How does God redeem us from the power of the grave?  He does this by receiving us.  He awaits us on the other side of the door which has a sign over it that says ‘death’.  The door itself is quite unattractive.  It stands as an unknown path to all of us, but the Lord stands on the other side ready to receive us.  If someone you love is facing death, if God is their God, if they are in Christ, they will be received. They will be redeemed from the power of the grave, for God will receive them.

Proverbs - Young and Old

Proverbs 20:29

The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the gray head.

There is a time and a season for every purpose under heaven.  There are things God wants to do through us when we are young and there are things He wants to do with us when we are old.  Here, young men are told that their strength is to be used for and by the Lord.  It is their glory.  Helping someone move, cleaning up after a church event or some other feat involving strength are always needed in the body of Christ.  Being able to stay up late with someone going through a crisis or praying late into the evening are both physically straining and the young can often carry this much better than the older.  Yet, the older have their own beauty.  The Lord tells us it is the gray head.  Gray hair implies experience.  Years lived are a valuable commodity.  To sit and glean perspective from someone who has traveled before us is beautiful.  We can hear of mistakes, successes, regrets and joys.  From these things people can avoid disasters, stop and enjoy things they might have otherwise missed and grow through their beauty.  Are you young?  Use your strength.  Are you older?  Use your years.  

Knowing God - God Grieves

Gen 6:6

                                                                                     

 And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth,

and it grieved him at his heart.

The Lord is grieved by the wickedness we may do.  He is not just an impartial judge but a God who loves us and cares for us.  He watches us and when we choose to do things in ways that are contrary to His loving boundaries, it grieves Him in His heart.  This is not a God who, like a police officer, is just monitoring violations and handing out citations in an indifferent and impersonal way.  This is a God whose heart of love is the motivation for every law and commandment He gives.  We might start to confess our sins, not only as legitimate offenses deserving judgment, but also as those things that grieve our God.  Tell Him how sorry you are and that you want your love for Him to motivate you to keep His commandments.  God has a heart for us, let us bring Him delight.

Proverbs - Mercy and Leadership

Proverbs 20:28

Mercy and truth preserve the king: and his throne is upholden by mercy.

Mercy and truth are companions that should always accompany each other when we are in the place of authority.  When we are placed in a position of authority we need mercy and truth.  We must be sure to not only deal with the truth of the matter but we must be sure to have mercy as well.  Our position will be preserved by mercy and truth.  By looking at a situation in its truth and giving consequences with mercy we will be able to love those we rule over.  Mercy extends compassion and an understanding heart of how someone my have failed.  Mercy is the heart of God. When our children rebel or disobey it is our responsibility to give consequences to teach truth but as we give those with a smile and compassion our children can understand that our acceptance of them is not rooted in their works but our relationship with them.  Sisters, can you take your pride out of the situation and administer truth with mercy?  This will help you as mothers and friends and wives.  Truth and mercy will preserve you and any position of influence and authority will be upheld by mercy.

Knowing God - He is the Guide of Our Youth

Jer 3:4

Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me,

My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

The Lord asks His people will they, from now on, cry unto Him.  Will they not call Him their personal father and their guide in their youth?  The Lord is reminding us that we need a Father at all ages.  He wants us to call Him “MY Father”.  The Lord wants us to remember how He guided us when we were young.  Because He is our Father and has been our guide, we need to cry unto Him as a Father and as our guide.  We can take the time today to address Him in this way and watch ourselves rest as His children.  As we tell Him how He has guided us when we were young, we can be confident that He is the same yesterday, today and forever.  The same God who guided us in the past, is the same God who will guide us today.  He is my father and the guide of my youth.

Proverbs - The Inner Man

Proverbs 20:27

The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly.

The spirit of man in this verse is most likely referring to the inner man – that which considers and determines the course we take.  It involves motives, values and perspectives.  This is the candle of the Lord.  He uses our inner man to show us who we really are and why we do what we do.  It is comforting to know that the Lord can use our inner man to show us things and change us.  We must yield our past and our disposition to Him and allow Him to use this to show us deeper reasons for why we do the things we do.  He is our Wonderful Counselor and we can trust Him to do some deep work within us.  Listen to His Spirit speak to your spirit.  He will redirect your perspective.  He will define truth.  He will dispel doubt. He will clarify confusion.  He will lead you to a rock that is higher than yourself.  May the Lord take hold of our spirits today and search us.  He will do good things.

Knowing God - In Him Are Treasures

Col 2:3

In whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

God has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Christ.  This is not a hide-and-seek game.   To those who are in Christ, the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are no longer hidden.  If I were to hide your birthday presents in a room and I told you that ALL of your presents are hidden in a room you haven’t been in, those gifts would be unknown and mysterious.  If I opened the door and you came into that room and had access to that room, the gifts would be plainly available and obvious to you.  If you are in Christ, look around!  There are treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Him.  Enjoy discovering them and having them available to you.  God has put these treasures in Christ and if you are in Christ, you can enjoy wisdom and knowledge for they are found in Him.

Proverbs - Using Our Position of Authority

Proverbs 20:26

A wise king scattereth the wicked, and bringeth the wheel over them.

The Lord is showing how to handle a position of authority.  A wise king will handle wickedness like a farmer would handle his grain.  When grain was harvested it would be brought to a threshing floor and go under a crushing.  This large stone wheel would break the stalk from its own stature and identity and bring out what was really in it.  If it was a true stalk of grain, the contents would fall to the threshing floor and that which was not of substance or that which came from a weed in the midst would blow away.  When we are even discerning what kind of friends we should have around us we must take the wheel of the Word and run it over and through our relationships.  What kind of fruit comes from time spent with them?  Do we have to ‘blow’ things away after getting off the phone with them?  When we are dealing with discipline with our children are we sure to use a standard beyond our moods and feelings?  Do we roll the weighty stone of the word over the situation and find that which we should affirm and that which we should renounce?  A king must use something objective by which to judge.  As we face each day may the Lord run His wheel even over any wickedness within us!

Knowing God - He Speaks Directly to Us

Luke 5:4

 Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.

Jesus had been teaching the multitudes.  He gave them wonderful instruction about their lives, the Lord and truth.  Then Jesus stopped speaking to the multitudes and spoke a directive to Simon.  The Lord loves His people and has so much to say to us as a flock, as a body and as His children, but He loves to speak to us directly as well.  Our God speaks to us about our individual lives.  He talked to Simon about Simon’s boat, Simon’s net and Simon’s profession.  Do you know that your Lord loves you and wants to speak to you about your possessions, your responsibilities and your day?  Do you ever place yourself as just one of His sheep instead of realizing that you are His individual lamb as well?  How wonderful to know that our Lord loves us and desires for us to hear Him leading our individual decisions and course! 

Proverbs - Make Inquiries BEFORE

Proverbs 20:25

It is a snare to the man who devoureth

that which is holy, and after vows to make inquiry.

Our lives are holy unto the Lord.  We have been set apart as His vessels and He has purposes and works for us.  Our days are to be used to accomplish His will and all that we do in His name is holy.  We must be so careful not to barge into commitments without considering if we have enough to finish it.  Like a wise builder, we should assess our resources and see if we have enough to finish it.  Like a strategic military leader we should take note of our troops and supplies to be sure we can go to battle with a plan and a commitment.  Our vows, our commitments should be entered into with the questions being asked before hand. This way, we can enter in prepared for the obstacles and difficulties that await us in any commitment.  In our marriage vows, the commitments to being a mom or a job or ministry responsibility all require perseverance and endurance.  If we ask questions after the fact that we should have asked before we entered into the commitment, we might find ourselves vulnerable to the enemy’s suggestions to quit.  Let us be those women who anticipate a season and prepare for it.  Let us ask the Lord the questions we need to ask and trust His answers will equip us for the task at hand.

Knowing God - The Lord Gives Some Difficult Commands

John 4:16

                              

Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.

The Lord Gives Difficult Commands

Jesus tells the Samaritan woman to get her husband and come back.  The woman is unable to do this because she is not currently married to anyone but, rather, living with a man.  Could the Lord have been referring to her first husband because that is the one the Lord would have considered her husband?  Or could He have been giving her a command she was unable to keep to show her the incredible need she had for the One who was truly the companion she had been looking for in the many lovers she had had?  The Lord may, indeed, give us directives we find ourselves unable to meet.  This should not lead us to discouragement or dismay but lead us to Him.  The Lord has the right to pose any sort of question or command to us and He has purposes behind these.  If we are unable to carry out His command, we need to be frank and honest with Him allowing the dialogue to continue and do the work He wants to do in us.  When the Lord gives us a command let us be sensitive to our inadequacies and bring them to Him.  He knows it all.  He has reasons for asking. Let us respond with honesty and humility trusting He is wanting to reveal Himself as the answer for all things.

Proverbs - Don't Try to Understand - Acknowledge!

Proverbs 20:24

Man's goings are of the Lord; how can a man then understand his own way?

To try to understand ourselves is a futile effort.  Our goings are of the Lord.  He designed us and He understands us.  He is the one who knows when we sit down and when we stand up.  He knows what in our pasts are really affecting our present.  As we go throughout our day, the safest way to live is to acknowledge Him in all our ways trusting Him to direct our paths.  He knows what each moment holds.  He knows the demonic realm.  He knows the desires of our hearts.  He knows our vulnerabilities.  He knows what will really bless us to the core.  Instead of trying to understand, seek His leading.  He wants us to find.  He wants to open the door and He wants to give to us.  Lord, thank You that my goings are of you and that you will help me live my moments in a way that You designed me to.

Knowing God - The Lord Loves the Unfaithful

Hos 3:1

 Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel,….”

The Lord Loves the Unfaithful

      

           “According to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel…” is quite the description given to Hosea in telling him how to love this woman.  Our God’s great love is a love that we must measure all our love against.  Time and time again, God’s people would leave Him and run after other gods and other sources of strength and yet, the Lord would pursue them with a jealous love.  Our God’s love is faithful even when we are faithless.  Our God’s

love is committed even when we are compromising. Our God’s love is steadfast even when we are distracted.  The love He has for us is rooted in who He is and not in whom we are. He is the loving Lord who pursues us with His love.  Let us learn this love, give this love and enjoy this love.  He is love.

Proverbs - What Are You Measuring With?

Proverbs 20:23

Divers weights are an abomination unto the Lord; and a false balance is not good.

What do we use to weigh matters?  Do we use our feelings for one situation and money for another?  Do we use our desires to weigh one thing and our comfort level in another?  Do we use what our parents might think on one decision and how we analyze something in another?  These are divers weights.  This is an abomination to the Lord.  We need one scale and one standard only.  God’s  evaluation!  Whether it is through His Word or the leading of the Spirit, we should be seeking His leading in all matters.  Living with so many different sorts of standards will leave us confused and controlled.  He wants us to have our lives reflect his Lordship and building ability.  He is the master craftsman and as he orders one measurement in one room of our lives He knows how it will connect to the next.  Lord unite our hearts to fear your name and please You!

Knowing God - He Will Help the Fearful

Isa 35:4

Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you.

          Here, a fearful is being addressed.  The fearful are being told that they can be strong and not fear.  Why?  Because God will come.  God will come with two things and come and do something.  He will come with a vengeance.  He will come with recompense.  He will come and save you.  God will come with a passion to protect you and stand up for you.  God will come with those consequences and inevitable outcomes that He has written into His eternal law.  He will come and save you.  God will come into those situations that produce fear in our hearts.  We can be strong and not fear BEFORE this happens knowing He will come and do these things.  Our strength and lack of fear is to be rooted in the strong commitment of our God to us and not in seeing or experiencing the deliverance.  The promise, alone, will give us strength and awaken us to courage and stamina in our fearful circumstances.  He will come.  Be strong and fear not!

Proverbs - Wait on the Lord

Proverbs 20:22

Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

The Lord is telling us not to say this much less do this.  If we sense retaliation in our heart, restrict it from exiting the lips.  Rather, lift up your voice for mercy and ask God to intervene on your behalf.  He is able to judge righteously and His judgments will be more than fair for all parties involved.  We must wait on the Lord.  This requires waiting.  This is simply said but difficult to do.   Give the Lord time to work and see how He loves you.  Nothing is hidden from the Lord.  He will avenge you of your enemies and He does it with a perfect love towards them as well.  Our wounds can cause us to react in a way that does not accomplish God’s greater purposes.  Wait on the Lord.  Pray for the situation over and over.  Look for the Lord’s leading in the matter.  Look for Him to show you what you need to learn from the situation.  Don’t wait on them to change.  Wait on the Lord to work.  He is and will work.  He shall save you and He does a much better job than you or I could ever do.

Knowing God - He Gives an Inheritance

Jer 3:18

In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

The Lord is speaking about unity resulting from His people turning from their backsliding ways and acknowledging their sin before Him.  He goes on to explain that, not only will they have unity, but His people will inherit what He had given to their fathers.  God has an inheritance for us.  When we return to Him, to the One who has married us, we obtain the inheritance He has given to generations before us in Christ.  The abundant life we can experience is the life promised to generations before us and available to us as well.  The Lord has given certain blessings for all those who are in Christ and seeking to follow Him.  Return to Him and walk in the inheritance already set apart for you.  He has given this to all those who are His children.  He loves you and He is a good Father.  Come together with all those who call upon Him out of a pure heart.  The inheritance remains.  Return.

Proverbs - Haste Can Bring Waste

Proverbs 20:21

An inheritance may be gotten hastily at the beginning;

but the end thereof shall not be blessed.

Being hasty is rarely a good thing, especially when it comes to possessions and money.  We must always consider the end of a matter.  When someone dies sometimes the worst of people can come out like vultures around the prey.  Let us be careful and remember that our treasures are in heaven and that we are setting our affection on the things above and not on the earth.  Let the relatives quibble sister.  You must maintain a pure heart and be content with such things as you have for He has said He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Open your mouth with wisdom when decisions are being made and do not allow the carnality to overtake you.  Relationships, people and eternity are at stake.  Let us not sell our true inheritance for something we cannot take with us.