Proverbs - Not Being Removed

Proverbs 10:30

The righteous shall never be removed:

but the wicked shall not inhabit the earth.

            The righteous standards the Lord gives us for our lives and homes, builds in a stability that we may not even recognize is there at first. Don’t worry.  Keep building with every bit of counsel and wisdom you receive from the Lord.  Your marriage, family and life will endure beyond the fleeting passions and fancies that may try to court you away from enduring love and constant character.  Every time we look to the blueprints of God’s Word and build according to code, we are those wise women and our homes are being constructed to withstand the evil day that most likely will visit in due time.  Don’t grow weary in well doing sisters.  Don’t be impatient to throw your lives together with substandard materials.  Have the patience of the master builder.  Look to Him each day for that which He would accomplish in you and through you.  You will not be moved.

Knowing God - His Counsel Will Stand

Isa 46:10

Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:

The Lord’s counsel shall stand and He will do ALL His pleasure.  When people make choices, and He allows us to, these choices are under the Lord’s complete ability to use to accomplish His purposes.  We are not subject to the whims of man if indeed we belong to the Lord through the payment of the blood of Jesus Christ.  We are in a place where, like Joseph’s fate at the hand of wicked brothers, we are under the sovereignty and plans of our God.  We need not whine and be embittered at the sins others commit against us.  We had best lift up our eyes with great anticipation of how our God will have His pleasure in the matter.  We need not walk in blame but walk with a hope in a God who declares the end from the beginning.  Our God’s purposes are not thwarted by the mere will of man.  Our God’s counsel SHALL stand!

Proverbs - The Way of the Lord is Strength

Proverbs 10:29

 The way of the LORD is strength to the upright:

 but destruction shall be to the workers of iniquity.

                        Sometimes we think the way of the Lord is hard and results in depletion of our strength.  This verse says “Not so”.  When we choose to do things the way the Lord has said it will result in strength.  Whenever a body builder wants to work out to build muscles strength, they need resistance to build muscle tissue cells.  Ladies, as we go against the natural choices we would make apart from the Lord’s guidance, we will face resistance initially.  Don’t panic!  This is just there to build strength in your spirit.  Keep going that way and you will find it much easier to resist the next time.  Embrace the resistance as the Lord’s means for building you up in His strength.

Knowing God - He Gathers Whom He Scatters

Ezek 11:16

Therefore say, Thus saith the Lord God; Although I have cast them far off among the heathen, and although I have scattered them among the countries, yet will I be to them as a little sanctuary in the countries where they shall come.

The Lord deals with His people and sometimes puts us in strange places because we have not put Him first in our lives.  He lets us wander to find out how much we need to stay close to Him and maintain an abiding relationship with Him.  When this happens, He is not forsaking us.  He is disciplining us.  When this happens, He does not leave us in our consequences.  He will be to us a little sanctuary in the midst of the heathen and in the midst of the land we find ourselves in.  Although our choices may have led us to unfamiliar territory and godless pursuits, we can anticipate that the Lord Himself will be a hiding place for us in the midst of our unpleasant consequences.  He will be as a little sanctuary, a little hiding place, in the midst of tough times even though we may deserve them.  Thank You Lord that You will NEVER leave us nor forsake us!

Proverbs - Where is Your Hope?

Proverbs 10:28

The hope of the righteous shall be gladness:

but the expectation of the wicked shall perish.

                        The hope of the righteous is a hope that is founded in the Lord.  We look to Him to move, comfort and provide.  Our eyes are fixed on Jesus and our expectation comes from Him.  When we hope in the Lord we are glad because we know that He has a plan and the best one for the situation.  We are not looking to others to perform or meet our expectations but, rather, we are hoping in the Lord and His ability to carry out deliverance in ways that have never entered our minds.  If we find ourselves in despair or depression, we might very well have put our hope in someone or something else.  This results in disappointment and must be remedied by transferring our hope back to the rock and under the shadow of His wings.

                        The expectation of the wicked is that which moves with strict codes and performance standards.  When our wicked nature is dictating what we expect from ourselves, the Lord or others, these expectations result in perishing hope and a wasteland of bitterness, disappointments and faint-heartedness.  Sister!  We must have our hope built in the consistent, faithful character of our God!  People will inevitably fall short of the glory of God.  The Lord says so in Romans 3:23.  Our expectations are so short-sighted and lack mercy and grace.  Hope is that which can look beyond performance to the One who works all things after the counsel of His will.  Won’t you repent of any expectations you have put on another today and rather enjoy those relationships you’ve been privileged to build?   Won’t you come before the Lord today with a heart anticipating all He can do?

Knowing God - He Can Be Robbed

Mal 3:8

 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.

The Lord is confronting his people about their finances.  He tells them that they have ‘robbed’ Him of tithes and offerings.  That means that there is definitely a concept here that some of the money we have been given, He has distinctly claimed as marked for Him in a giving sort of way.  Sure, all of our money is His and we are to glorify Him with every penny, but this verse gives us insight into the fact that some of the money we have should be given to Him in a conscious way for His purposes.  How much?  How do we give it to Him?  Could it be as this verse suggests, a tithe, ten percent?  Could it also/or be offerings as we purpose in our heart?  Could it be both?  Is it in giving to our local church?  Is it in giving to mission organizations?  These things are not so clear to every believer.  I encourage you to humbly come before your God and ask Him if you have robbed Him financially in any way and ask Him what He considers the appropriate amount to set aside.  We don’t want to rob from the One who has spared not His own Son and will freely give us all things.

Proverbs - Fear of the Lord and Health

Proverbs 10:27

 The fear of the LORD prolongeth days:

 but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.

When we are more concerned about what God’s desires are for us than anyone else’s we are walking in the fear of the Lord.  The Lord tells us in this verse that when we are mastered by a concern to please the Lord only we will have prolonged days.  One angle of this promise is that the stresses and wear and tear of being controlled by the expectations of others or ourselves won’t be there wearing at our health and causing us to be on edge resulting in medical conditions brought on by such anxieties.

                        Another side of the fear of the Lord prolonging our days is that we won’t be making dangerous choices that have the potential for ending our lives early.  We won’t be in sexually promiscuous relationships that carry the threat of disease.  We won’t be taking in alcohol to the injury of our liver.  We won’t be controlled by food, starvation or gluttony, that could wreak havoc on our systems and torment the balance of our body.

                        If we want our days prolonged and not shortened, we need to seek to please the Lord in all we do and avoid being motivated by any other predominant relationship in our lives.