Tag Archives: Proverbs 3

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The God-Directed Life

Read: Proverbs 3

“Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:7, NLT)

One of the most theologically insightful observations ever made came from, oddly enough, the long-running comic strip Pogo: “We have met the enemy, and he is us!” Yes—amen!  That is pretty much true about us, isn’t it?  We are our own worst enemy.  And the sooner we come to grips with that irritating little reality, the sooner we can get on the road to a satisfying and successful experience of life.

For that very reason, King Solomon said that we shouldn’t be impressed with out own wisdom, or as The Message puts it, we shouldn’t “assume that we know it all.” Rather, we should “run to God and run from evil!” (Proverbs 3:7, MSG). Think about that.  To begin with, we are not to assume (you know what they say happens when we assume) that we are self-sufficient. Rather, Solomon says we ought to lean into God’s sufficiency by, one, running to him and two, by running from evil.  By the way, those two actions—running to God and running from sin—are major themes in Proverbs.  Proverbs refers to having sense enough to run to God as “the fear of the Lord” and having sense enough to run from sin is having “wisdom and discretion” (see the previous blog on Proverbs 2:11).

Now the more famous verses in Proverbs 3 that go before and come after verse 7 are important to note here.  Proverbs 3:5-6 instruct us as to how we can “run to God”: We are not to rely on our own smarts—our brainpower is not that impressive anyway. Rather, we are to make God the first, continual and final source of authority in our lives.  If we do that, God himself guarantees to direct our decisions.

“Trust God from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, MSG)

By allowing God to direct the daily decisions of our life, then he also takes responsibility for the outcome of those decisions.  Proverbs 3:8-10 tells us that a God-directed life will produce a body that is lean and mean with a healthy sheen.  Think I am kidding? Read on,

“Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life!” Proverbs 3:8, MSG)

Furthermore, Solomon assures us that the God-directed life will produce a fat wallet.  Seriously—here is what Proverbs 3:9-10 (MSG) says,

“Honor God with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst,  your wine vats will brim over.”

Not bad, huh! I think I’ll take the God-directed life over the me-directed life.  How about you?

So my friend, your biggest worry today is not the economy or the environment or some enemy.  It is you!  But if in things big and small you will run to God and run from evil, you will be on the way to a life of success, satisfaction and significance.

“Where there is no enemy within, the enemies outside cannot hurt you.” ~African Proverb

Winning At Life:

Practice stopping throughout the day to talk to God.  Before you make a decision, for sure, but even when you are in a quiet moment of contemplation, when you are watching a television show or listening to talk radio on the way to work, or after you have had a conversation, be sure to include God.  Ask him what he thinks, what he wants, and if he will help.

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This World Is A Perfectly Safe Place For Me

Read: Proverbs 3:24

You can go to bed without fear; you will lie down and sleep soundly. (New Living Translation)

Earthquakes that are, pardon the pun, off the Richter scale; volcanic eruptions that disrupt international travel for days; uncontainable oil gushers 5,000 feet below the surface of the ocean spewing millions of gallons of crude crud onto our shores; acts of terror that shut down the world’s commerce and put the earth’s inhabitants on a permanent edge; a global economy sinking deeper into crisis by the day—all while the politicians and economists and titans of wealth scratch their heads in bewilderment.

Reads like a page right out of John’s Revelation, doesn’t it?  Actually, that’s what we wake up to every morning in the newest news—attention-grabbing headlines that might as well read, “Good Morning, Sunshine! It Looks Like The World Will End Today!” With a steady diet of crisis du jour and a media that can’t stop itself from the “if it bleeds it leads” approach, it’s no wonder that more and more people are decreasingly hopeful and increasingly afraid.

Except for Christians!  We’re confident—or at least we should be—because we’re in better hands.  If you are worried about the condition of the world, stop!  You don’t have to be, since the last time I looked, Someone was in charge.  And if you are doing your best to walk uprightly and wisely before him, you’re going to be just fine.  You don’t need to be afraid of sudden disaster or the inevitable destruction coming upon the wicked, since the Lord himself is your security. (Proverbs 3:25-26, NLT) He is your defender and protector—24/7.

Here’s the deal: When you belong to God, this world is a perfectly safe place for you, no matter what is going on around you.  So you might as well go ahead and get a good night’s sleep tonight and let your Heavenly Father stay awake and worry for you, since he neither sleeps nor slumbers, according to Psalm 121:4.

In 1944, German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who was later hanged by the Nazis, wrote in a letter from prison:

“Much that worries us beforehand can, quite unexpectedly,
have a happy and simple solution …
Things really are in a better hand than ours.”

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

Read all eight verses of Psalm 121 every eight hours for the next twenty-four. When you wake up, when you get off work, and when you go to bed, take a dose of this Psalm and see if it doesn’t calm your fears in the morning, lift your worries at work’s end, and cause you eyes to get heavy with sleep-inducing peace when you hit the pillow.

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You Can’t Take It With You

Read: Proverbs 3:15

Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.

“You can’t take it with you!” You’ve heard that saying, haven’t you?  No matter what you amass in this life—wealth, possession, power and fame—it will all stay outside the box on the day they lower your cold, clammy body six feet under. I have conducted dozens and dozens of funerals in my time as a minister, and I’ve yet to see a hearse pulling a U-Haul behind it.  And it will always be that way.  Why?  Simply because of this one inalterable truth:

You can’t take it with you!

That’s exactly right: You can’t take it with you! Many have tried but the failure rate year in and year out continues to hover around 100%!

I spoke with a friend this week who has gone through a pretty rough three-year stretch—and when I say rough, just imagine the worst.  Yet he seems to be doing well.  So I asked him, since God promises to bring good out of what causes us grief, what good had he seen in his Job-like experience?  Without hesitation, he said his challenges had brought him closer to the Lord, had driven him to God’s Word—which he now loves passionately—had thrust him into the Christian community like never before, and had taught him that the loss of his six figure salary had no effect whatsoever on God’s track record of providing for his daily bread.  He had found wisdom—and nothing he had previously held dear could come close to that!

That man had found true wisdom—more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her.

In our culture, it is so easy to get caught up in the chase for the temporal—fame, fortune, pleasure and possessions.  If that might be the case for you, I would challenge you to read Proverbs 3:13-20, and let the Word of God recalibrate your instruments, or at some point, you’re going to come in for a really rough landing.

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains
understanding, for she is more profitable than silver
and yields better returns than gold.”
~Proverbs 3:13-14

Your Assignment, Should You Choose To Accept It:

Read Proverbs 3:13-20, then on a piece of paper, write down in one column the benefits of pursuing and attaining wisdom.  After you have done that, write down in another column the benefits of pursuing and attaining money, pleasure, power and things.  The answer will be obvious, but it serves as a good reminder: Five minutes after your death, which column of benefits will matter then?