Proverbs - Sluggard!

Proverbs 6:6-11

Don’t Be A Sluggard

 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:

 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,

 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.

 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?

 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:

 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man.

                         In the summer time I do not enjoy housework!  Hot water, vacuums, folding hot laundry out of the dryer, and cooking are just not appealing when the weather tells you to sit down and drink lemonade.  I always think it is strange that during the warmest summer months we have an ant problem.  It’s almost like the Lord knows I need to go to the ant, consider her ways and be wise.  He brings these ants to me in order to wake me up from my sluggish, summer ways and be about looking well to the ways of my household.  The precious seemingly insignificant creatures are here partly to teach us lazy humans a thing or two.  In the summer, ants look for water and they are militant about it.  One time I went into my laundry closet and there was an organized line of these tiny creatures going up the wall of my laundry closet, on to the shelf, up the iron and into the small opening where I put water in for steam pressing.  Talk about diligence!  They found water in the laundry closet!  They also reminded me that ironing was necessary in the heat of summer as well as the cozy times of winter!  Thank you Lord for these little lessons!

Proverbs - Wake UP!

Proverbs 31:15

She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household,

 and a portion to her maidens.

A lot of women cringe at this verse at first sight.  They hate waking up early.  There can be seasons where this might not be as necessary given your work schedule, responsibilities or health, but oftentimes it is quite the good thing if you have a family that starts their day early.  It is a good thing to rise up before the rest of the house, whenever that is, and make sure that our family is waking up to a smile and good food.  Our husbands and children can wake up to love and care.  They can smell the bacon or see the cereal set up for them and start their day feeling loved and taken care of.  Ladies, we are not called to be served but to serve.  What a privilege!  Maybe you can set the table or get some muffin mix mixed up the night before.  You can be praying for them before the alarm wakes them up and you can set the tone of the day.  Be honest and consider if you might not be fulfilling this part of the ministry to which you are called.  Wake up!  You might even hear His lovingkindness in the morning before you hear the babies, husband and children’s voices!

Proverbs - Willingly

Proverbs 31:13

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.

Willingly

A virtuous woman doesn’t need everything handed to her.  She will seek for the materials she needs and doesn’t mind working with her hands.  As a matter of fact, she works willingly with her hands.  The manicure is not her priority.  She knows that using her hands to clean and cook helps her home be a place of order and her hands will help bring it about.  She knows that everything isn’t always easy and expects to spend much time looking for things and using her hands.  This modern day world tells us to love ease, but God’s design for us is to be women who willingly work with our hands.  The next time we need to hunt something down or pick something up, let us use our will to choose to do it and find that we will be shining like a ruby.

Proverbs - Things that Disquiet

Proverbs 30:21-23

For three things the earth is disquieted, and for four which it cannot bear:

For a servant when he reigneth; and a fool when he is filled with meat;

For an odious woman when she is married; and an handmaid that is heir to her mistress.

These are things that will probably bother most of us and we are told here that this is to be expected.  The first thing we are told about is when a servant reigns.  This is not referring to a wise servant who is promoted but rather someone who should not be promoted yet ends up there anyway.  It could be due to a pay off, or favoritism.  This usually disquiets those around who know the real story and see such an undeserved promotion. 

The second thing that is hard to bear is when a fool is filled with meat.  This is saying that when someone wastes their time, is lazy or squanders what they have and ends up with financial blessings, we can find ourselves a bit burdened by this apparent inconsistency.

Another thing that disquiets us is when a hateful woman is married.  When we see a wicked, mean woman sought after and vowed to, we don’t understand why the man has chosen her.  This, too, is hard to bear.

Finally, when we see someone receive an inheritance that should have gone to someone else, we can get rather perturbed.  All of these things should help us understand that there will be those things in life that we may sense are unjust.  As we read through the book of Proverbs we see that there are general principles that God has placed to play out in life, but, at times, we will see temporary contradictions.  We must give these to the Lord and trust that He will deal with matters according to His everlasting truth.  When we find ourselves burdened with these inconsistencies we must wait on the Lord and trust He will bring all that He says to pass.  Don’t be too discouraged and don’t think that God’s Word is not true.  Trust in the Lord, commit your way to Him and He WILL bring it to pass.