Proverbs - Silver on the Outside/Clay on the Inside

Proverbs 26:23

Burning lips and a wicked heart are like a potsherd covered with silver dross.

Our hearts can be quite wicked and the words that come across our lips can burn and wound.  Many a show has exalted the wicked woman with flattering lips.  We must be cautious to be sure that our hearts are seeking to love and our lips are seeking to build up.  Otherwise we may come across one way initially and end up delivering nothing but empty promises and hurtful judgments.  We must be sensitive to the power of the tongue and consistently guarded by the Lord’s leading when speaking.  Be open to the convictions of a wicked heart and get it right by confessing it and receiving his forgiveness and cleansing.  A potsherd is a piece of a broken clay pot.  If this piece was covered in silver, the silver would disguise the true substance of the object.  Let us give words that are like apples of gold in settings of silver rather than potsherd covered with silver dross.

Knowing God - The Lord Formed You

Jeremiah 1:5

Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

The Lord formed us in our mothers’ wombs and the Lord had us in mind before He even made us.  He decided our genes, socioeconomic environment, weaknesses and gifts.  He had specific purposes in mind for each one of us and set us apart for certain works before we were even being formed in the womb.  If you and I ever feel misunderstood or lost in our own skin, we must take note that the Lord has known us even before we were created.  In order to live out the life He has for us, it is so important for us to be in total submission to the One who decided to make us in the first place.  Ask Him for His leading and His purposes to come forth in your life today.  He knows you.  He formed you.  He has set you apart and called you.  He loves you.

Knowing God - The Lord Pays Good for Curses

2 Sam 16:12

It may be that the Lord will look on mine affliction, and that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day.

The Lord Pays Good for Cursing

David spoke this when a man was casting stones at David and saying all kinds of accusations at him.  Earlier David said, “…so let him curse, because the Lord has said unto him, Curse David”. (2 Samuel 16:10)  David was in a very low time of his life and this man was adding insult to injury.  David was not going to command his men to fight for him in this situation.  This was not a king’s battle.  This was a personal attack and David knew the difference.  He realized that the Lord is His King and the Lord will fight for him.  The Lord sees the insults and personal attacks we go through.  He sees our afflictions and might very well give us a blessing because of someone’s ill treatment of us.  The attacks of others are intended to be used by the Lord to be used for our good.  The Lord sees your personal conflict.  Resist the desire to attack back and look up.  It may be that that the Lord will pay you good for the cursing you are going through.

Proverbs - Words Can Wound

Proverbs 26:22

The words of a talebearer are as wounds,

and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.

Getting on the phone or going out to lunch and telling another woman the play by play account of your life is a common practice for women.  This is not to be with the woman of God.  She does not tell the stories of conversations and relationships to another.  She handles her relationships with care and keeps confidences and conversations in the appropriate boundaries.  She doesn’t tell another what someone else said and did unless the Lord is leading her to in order to breed unity and admiration.  Her conversations are rooted in the Lord and what He is doing with the person and relationship at hand.  If she repeats something she risks hurting the person across from her without her even knowing it.  It is best to avoid bringing other names and situations into a current conversation.  Love the person in front of you and enjoy the moment.  This will decrease the likelihood of injury and pain.

Knowing God - He Will Show You the Way

Psalm 16:11a

You will show me the paths of life..

He Shows Us Life’s Paths

The Lord is the One who shows us the paths of life.  He doesn’t just teach us about them or command us to go on them, but actually SHOWS us the paths.  Oftentimes we are ignorant or blinded to the paths that are full of life.  We choose paths of death and paths of decay.  We can choose a path because it looks familiar or inviting unaware of its destination.  We need the Lord to SHOW us the paths of life.  He will use His Word to illuminate our path and show us the path that goes towards life and newness.  Life denotes newness, activity, goals, accomplishment and meaning.  As you look into His Word and sense His leading trust that the paths He is leading You on are not really those which kill good times but rather bring life.  

Proverbs - The Accelerant of Contention

Proverbs 26:21

As coals are to burning coals, and wood to fire;

so is a contentious man to kindle strife.

Here we are warned again about putting out the fire of strife.  Being contentious will contribute to the fire of conflict.  Being contentious means being argumentative and contending for our positions.  We ought rather leave things and allow the Lord to fight for us.  State what needs to be said and drop it.  If we go on and on we will be like burning colas and wood to fire.  Be quiet within and quiet without. Settle your soul and let the peace of Christ reign and rule in your hearts.  Don’t be that contentious woman.  Don’t be that hot burning coal.  Watch the fire of strife begin to diminish and resolution take place because you chose to not be contentious.

Knowing God - He Goes Before Us

                                                            Isaiah 45a             

“I will go before you and make the crooked places straight:”

So much of who the Lord reveals Himself to be involves His involvement with us.  How wonderful that our God is a God who doesn’t just sit on a throne disconnected with His creation!  He is a loving Father, Shepherd and King, who concerns Himself with the paths of those He has created.  Here we see that God, Himself, goes before us on our paths, straightening out ways that are crooked before we even walk them.  Our Lord desires to be a God who, not only is with us on our roads, but goes before us to give us a great sense of being cared for and looked after.  He is in this day and its events before we even get there.  If you and I face something difficult today, remember that the Lord has gone before us and He has influenced the twists and turns our lives make.  He will guide us because He has travelled our roads before us.