Proverbs - Laziness and Excuses

Proverbs 20:4

The sluggard will not plow by reason of the cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.

The Lord tells us in this verse that a sluggard has reasons for not doing work.  They don’t just admit to being lazy they have a reason.  The Lord points out that it is not a legitimate reason but more of an excuse.  When farmers farm, they farm in all kinds of weather.  Sometimes they find that the more extreme weather conditions actually require a more diligent attentiveness to the crops than comfortable climate conditions.  A sluggard will look at the immediate conditions and make a decision on how they will be impacted in comfort as opposed to the requirements and need of the matter.  We, as women, must not be sluggards coming up with ‘reasons’ why we don’t take care of the immediate.  Here we see that when this sluggard makes such a decision, they are impacted later by their laziness at the moment.  If we don’t get to the dishes after dinner, we may find ourselves overwhelmed the next day.  If we don’t shop when we need provision, we may find ourselves lacking in the next few days.  So many of us do not see that if we are lazy in the moment, we will end up lacking in the future.  Comfort and ease are not to determine our priorities.  A godly woman will work willingly with her hands and is not afraid of hard work.  If we do this, we will find ourselves enjoying our future.  We will laugh at the future and not be afraid of times to come.  We must not be sluggards and instead of taking the time to figure out why we shouldn’t tackle the task at hand, we need to just do it.  Do it heartily and be women who build our homes and not be afraid to do the work we have before us.

Knowing God - He is Our Arm

Isa 33:2

 O Lord, be gracious unto us; we have waited for thee: be thou their arm every morning, our salvation also in the time of trouble.

The Lord wants to be our arm every morning.  The phrase ‘the arm of the Lord’ speaks of God’s strength.  It is often in the morning that we awaken and consider the problems and responsibilities we currently have.  It is in the morning that we can realize that the Lord wants to be our arm, our strength.  The arm of the Lord also represents His authority and final say so in matters.  “The Lord hath sworn by his right hand, and by the arm of his strength..” (Isaiah 62:8) In the morning we can come to our God and thank Him for being our arm every morning – the strength of our lives.  “….thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.” (Exodus 15:13) 

Oh Lord guide our days, starting in the morning with your mighty arm and strength.  Be our arm O Lord.

KJV

Knowing God - He Chooses Us Due to Our Weaknesses

                                                           Deut 7:7                                              

The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people;

for ye were the fewest of all people:

The Lord sets His love on us and chooses us not because we are more in number but BECAUSE we are the fewest of all people.  He loves us because we need His love.  He cares for us because we are vulnerable, weak and outnumbered by things in this life.  God’s love is what we need to overcome those things that outnumber us.  He knows that His love, set upon us, brings a strength and confidence that far exceeds any sort of obvious strength or might.  How wonderful that His love is not contingent upon the things He sees shining in us but, as a matter of fact, is contingent on our weaknesses and inabilities!  Thank You for Your love, set upon me.  Thank You for choosing me.  Thank You that I don’t have to impress you.  You impress me with Your love!             

Proverbs - Cease From Strife

Prov 20:3

It is an honour for a man to cease from strife:

but every fool will be meddling.

It is an honor for us to cease from strife.  When we suddenly stop arguing, and refrain our lips from commenting, we will contribute to our honor.  To make it easier for a child to honor us we need to be women who cease from strife and meddling.  We need to not badger our children and argue over every point.  When our children begin to be unreasonable and argumentative it is an honor for us to cease.  Cease means to stop in the middle of something.  We can stop mid-sentence if we must.  We can stop before the words even leave our mouths and we can cease from allowing our minds to even think of that quick comeback.  This is an honor although we may be tempted to think being quiet will make us look bad.  We must believe God.  It is an honor to cease from strife and avoid meddling.

Knowing God - He Will Fight for Us

Ps 35:1

 Plead my cause, O Lord, with them that strive with me: fight against them that fight against me.

When people strive against us they usually have arguments, reasoning and accusations.  The Lord will plead our cause so we won’t be tempted to defend ourselves in our own strength.  He will plead our cause with people if we would just get out of the way.  When people fight against us, the Lord will fight for us.  We are not to take it on ourselves to defend, fight for or argue for ourselves.  The Lord is the Word.  He is the best defense attorney we could ever ask for.  He is the truth and He is love.  His banner over us is love.  He will help us and we can focus on forgiving, loving and, yes, enjoying those who come against us.  Even when someone doesn’t like us we can still focus on what we like about them.  If we back off and let the Lord take on the conflict we can focus on loving God and loving them.  This will fulfill the law and the prophets.

Proverbs - Angry Authority

Proverbs 20:2

The fear of a king is as the roaring of a lion: whoso provoketh him to anger sinneth against his own soul.

Authority is to be respected and submitted to.  When we provoke someone in authority over us to anger we sin against our own soul.  We create an environment that is oppressive and troublesome for ourselves.  People in authority over us have been given, by God, the ability to make decisions that affect our lives.  This is why we must pray for those in authority and seek to honor them.  This includes government authority, husbands, supervisors, landlords, pastors, parents and ministry leaders.  When we are considering our actions or words that will directly impact those over us, we must remember that if we choose to live a way that will provoke them to wrath, our very souls will be troubled.

This is a good truth to teach our children.  If they provoke us or their fathers to wrath, oftentimes the punishment will be much more severe than needed because of the heightened emotion.  They need to speak respectfully and not walk deceitfully so that the infraction can be dealt with in calm matter rather than the heat of being caught off guard or deceived. 

Proverbs - Alcohol and Wisdom

Proverbs 20:1

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:

and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.

Drinking alcohol is a dangerous liberty.  It is almost like playing on train tracks.  Sure, they are fun and offer a lot of entertainment but if you are lulled to a lack of awareness, a train could approach and take you out in an instant.  If you fell on the tracks and were knocked out a train could overtake you and your life would be over forever.  Is it worth the risk for the temporary enjoyment it may bring?  Here the Lord tells us that wine is a mocker.  It makes fun of us and puts us in situations in which we are often the fool.  Strong drink can intimidate us like an angry rage-filled man.  It can begin to tell us what to do, what to say and keep us from being able to do that which we want to do.  We also learn in this verse that wine and strong drink deceives many people.  It is not wise to be deceived by the taste, effect or social environment alcohol desires offers us.  There are so many other choices for taste that do not impair or affect our judgment.  Sister, don’t allow yourself to be mocked.    Don’t let alcohol rage against you and don’t be deceived.  To be under the influence of anything other than His Holy Spirit puts us all in a very vulnerable place.