Honest Reflections

This blessing comes while the Israelites are in Sinai.  They have already received the 10 Commandments. Moses has spent the last couple of chapters giving them additional laws.  And now he is giving them promises and warnings. This is one of them. It is conditional, they must serve the Lord and He in return will bless them with food and good health.

The Hebrew word for serve is abad, pronounced aw-bad.  I love what it means when referencing serving the Lord.  It is a “joyful experience of liberation.” Often times, the Israelites got it wrong and worshipped other gods.  But not in this case, in this case the focus is on the one and only God.

Just like the Israelites, we often get it wrong too.  We think we’re serving God, but we really aren’t. It’s often said, Satan’s easiest ploy to get us off track is busyness.  Busyness can be a false god. Busyness at church, busyness at work, busyness at home. Even good activities can be keeping you from an intimate relationship with God.  When we are intentional about investing in our relationship with Jesus we will find joy. By spending time with Him, we will find the “joyful experience of liberation.”

Are you experiencing joyful freedom in your relationship with God?  If you aren’t, why not? Are you to caught up in the busyness of life to develop a close relationship with God?  The good news is today is a new day. Look at your calendar, decide where you can be more intentional about spending time with God.  Seek Him first. Jesus doesn’t want you worn out, He wants you to be filled with joy. He wants to bless you with good food and good health.  Follow His lead:
“Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”  Matthew 11:28-30 NLT

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19 CSB

I love what it says in my Bible dictionary about supply in its original form: “to fill a vessel or a hollow place.”  How often, when we have a need does it fill empty and hollow? No matter what it is. When I worked for Nautica, layoffs became a common thing in the declining retail business.  It seemed every six months someone was losing their job. I felt helpless, at the mercy of others. I would cling to this verse every time my mind started going down the dark, empty hole of “what-ifs?”  And God provided, somehow, through His mercy I managed to survive time and again.

Matthew tells us in his gospel:  “Therefore I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing?” 6:25 CSB

Turn your worry into worship.

Instead of focusing on your needs, focus on the One who can fulfill them.  Focus on God’s glory. Start praising Him for what He has already done in your life.  For instance, when I started worrying about losing my job, I remembered God has always provided work for me.  From the time I started mowing the cemetery with my family in Tidal, until today, He has always provided work for me.  I may not have always wanted to do it, but He has provided a way.

Turn your worry into worship.  Praise Him for what He has already done, thank Him for what He will do.  Trust Him that He will supply all of your needs, no matter what they are.  As Rick Warren says, “God doesn’t just own a slice of the pie, He’s the pie maker.  He owns it all!”

“For I know the plans I have for you,”  this is the Lord’s declaration, “plans for your well-being, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”  Jeremiah 29:11 CSB

This blessing comes from a letter Jeremiah wrote to the exiles that Nebuchadnezzar had deported from Jerusalem to Babylon (Jeremiah 29:1-3 CSB).  It is a message of hope to people who have lost their homes. Not all of the exiles made it back to Jerusalem, choosing to stay where they were instead, becoming the ancestors of Iraqi Jews.  The journey back didn’t come all at once, it was gradual over time.

The same can be said of our faith journey.  Once we realize we are all sinners and turn our hearts towards God, it’s a gradual process.  It doesn’t happen overnight. We have to shift our thinking from our old ways to what God says and thinks about us.  I love this example from “Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones”:

Imagine two people who are quitting smoking are offered a cigarette.  The first person says, “No thanks, I’m trying to quit”. The second person says, “No thanks, I’m not a smoker.”  Do you see the difference in their responses? The first person doesn’t truly believe they’re no longer a smoker, they’re trying to be something else.  The second person believes he’s no longer a smoker. It’s a small change that indicates a big difference.

The same can be applied to our faith journey.  You can either spend your time trying to be someone else or you can believe you are a new creation in Jesus.  The choice is yours. You can choose to trust He has good plans for your well-being. You can choose to trust He has a future for you full of hope.  You don’t have to “try” to be someone else for Jesus. He knows you intimately, all of you. There is nothing hidden from Him. His plans are specific for you and your life, for your struggles.  He will use it all for His glory if you just choose to trust Him with it.

God doesn’t want you to be anyone other than who He made you to be.  His plan for your life is specific. It’s good. It’s yours. Just trust Him to bring it to fruition.  Believe you are His and He is yours, then let His plan unfold!

“May the Lord bless you and protect you, may the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; may the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.”  Numbers 6:24 CSB

This is how the Lord told Moses to bless the Israelites.  Israel means wrestle with God, persevere with Him. The name Israel comes from Genesis 32:28.  Jacob is on his way back to reconcile with Esau. He has stopped for the night, having sent everyone else ahead he finds himself in a wrestling match with God.  He refuses to let go of Him, not until God blesses him. It is at this point we find this verse:

“Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.” Genesis 32:28

Often in life, our relationship with God is a wrestling match.  We are struggling with Him and with humans. The key to receiving the blessing is to not let go, to hold on until the blessing comes.  And it will come, just as it did for Jacob in the next verse: “Then he blessed him there.” Genesis 32:29b

God blessed Jacob right there where he had struggled with him.  Where he had held on for dear life, refusing to let go. When we are in the midst of the struggle, this is the key:  Just hold on. Don’t let go. Whether you are struggling in your relationship with God, or if it is with people, trust God for the blessing to come.  Don’t let go until you receive it. Often times we give up too soon and miss the blessing.

The book of Job has become one of my favorite books in the Bible.  It’s early in chapters one and two when Job loses everything: his children, his livelihood, his health.  For the next 36 chapters God is silent. Finally, in chapter 38 God speaks. What if Job had given up at chapter 34 or 36?  And quite frankly, with the friends he had, you wouldn’t blame him. But he doesn’t, in the midst of such unspeakable loss, he holds on.  He holds on tight. And when God speaks, he is listening. And God blesses him, restoring everything he had in double proportions.

If you want the blessing, if you want God’s face to shine upon you and give you peace, hang on for chapter 38.  Don’t give up. Hold tight. The blessing is coming.

“May he give you what your heart desires and fulfill your whole purpose.”  Psalm 20:4 CSB

This verse isn’t referring to just any desire.  It is written for David as he prepares for battle.  The desire of his heart is for victory for the Lord.  David was known as a man after God’s own heart who would do His will (Acts 13:22).  It’s important to understand the desires of David’s heart were in line with God’s purpose for him.  David had absolute faith in God, and his heart’s desire was to be in God’s will for his life.

This is a tricky verse and can be easily misunderstood.  I struggled with it most when I was single. I was doing the best I could to live my life according to God’s guidelines.  Year after year would go by, and my heart’s desire wasn’t being fulfilled. I had friends getting married left and right, children being born, yet I remained single.  It was then I was challenged by a friend, “What if you hearts desire isn’t God’s desire for you? What if it isn’t God’s will for you to be married?” To which I responded, “Then why do I have the desire?”

What I was challenged with, what I eventually learned, was my love for God isn’t dependent on whether or not He fills my heart’s desires.  In fact, I learned He was enough. Eventually I realized, He is my heart’s desire. If I have Him, that is all I need, the rest is icing on the cake.  John 4:4 tells us, He that is in you is greater than He that is in the world. It is in our heart where we meet God, in our innermost being.

Now, when I pray for my heart’s desires, it is to be in His will, doing what He wants me to do.  I want to fulfill the purpose He has for me. As you know, He did eventually give me the blessing of a husband, but it wasn’t until I was content in Him.  

I pray He fulfills the desires of your heart by aligning your heart with His. I pray you fulfill the purpose He has for you. You’ll find, when you get your heart in line with God’s heart for you, all of your heart’s desires will be fulfilled.

“The person who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence indeed is the Lord is blessed.  He will be like a tree planted by the water, it sends its roots out toward a stream, it doesn’t fear when heat comes, and its foliage remains green.  It will not worry in a year of drought or cease producing fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8 CSB

It is really interesting what “blessed” means in its original form: to bless, kneel, salute or greet.  It derives from the noun knee and suggests the “bending of the knee in blessing”. When I looked it up in Webster’s Dictionary of 1828, which defines words based on America’s early Biblically based values, it reflected how I thought blessed would be defined:

Happy; prosperous in worldly affairs; enjoying spiritual happiness and the favor of God; enjoying heavenly felicity. (Felicity means: prosperity; blessing; enjoyment of good…I had to look that up too.)

Bending of the knee implies submission.  We are submitting ourselves to the Lord, we are trusting in Him fully, which leads to a blessed life.  But a blessed life does not mean a bank account with so many zeros you can’t count them. It does not mean living in a mansion on your own private island or owning a private jet for transportation.  It means having full confidence in the Lord, no matter what your external circumstances. If we look only at our current situation, and judge it based only on what we know, we could be completely wrong.

Who knows what Good or Bad is?  We can’t tell until the story ends.  Here’s an example of a farmer and His horse:

One day, the farmer’s horse runs away.  That’s bad.

The next day it comes back with 12 more horses.  That’s good.

The next day the farmer’s son falls off the horse while training it and breaks his leg.  That’s bad.

The next day the army comes through recruiting able bodied young men, but his son can’t go because he has a broken leg. That’s good.

And on and on the story can go.

Who knows what is good or bad?  Who knows if it is a blessing or a curse?  It’s not until we get to the end of the story that we can fully know the answer.  But what we do know is if we submit to God. If we trust in Him completely, if that is where our confidence lies, no matter what, we will have a blessed life.

Read Proverbs Chapter 31.

“Strength and honor are her clothing, and she can laugh at the time to come.” Proverbs 31:25 CSB

You did it. If you read along with us all month, you have now read the entire book of Proverbs. A book full of wisdom and insight into our daily lives. You also have finished the first quarter of our year of growing in faith. How’s it going? Has your faith grown? Comment below on how your faith has changed in the first three months of 2019, or even if it hasn’t.

We end Proverbs with one of the most talked about women in the Bible. Ministries are named after her, if you own a Thirty One bag or have heard of them, this is where the name came from; the Proverbs 31 Woman: A Wife of Noble Character. And she was noble. When I think of her, I think of many of you. Women who work hard for their husbands, for their children, for their church. Women who sacrifice daily so that others lives can flourish.

I have often heard women compare themselves to the Proverbs 31 woman, saying they can’t compete. It’s not a competition. It’s a daily giving of yourself for others. Her husband trusts her, as do yours. She gives him good, not evil, as do you. She cooks and cleans for her family, just like you, often getting up early before anyone else to do it. She is strong, she works hard. She helps others in need. She helps with the family finances. She speaks wisdom into her family from a heart that overflows with love. She loves the Lord with all her heart, she does her best to serve Him and her family well. Read Proverbs 10:10-31 again. Don’t compete with her, see yourself in her. I don’t know all of you, but I know this, you’re doing the best you can and that is all God asks.

I have loved the example this woman has set ever since I met her in the pages of Scripture. I framed these words when I was single and prayed daily to have the opportunity to follow her lead. And God has given me the opportunity to do so. I’m grateful I have a husband that trusts me, that I get to do good for all the days of my life. My fear of the Lord has given me the ability to laugh at the time to come, because I know, whatever it is, He is already there waiting for me. He’s already preparing the way for me. He’s doing the same for you. Let your laughter ring loudly, being confident not in what will come, but in the One who will be there with you.

Read Proverbs Chapter 30.

“Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.
Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’
Or I may become poor and steal,
   and so dishonor the name of my God. ” NIV

If you want to pray a bold prayer, pray these verses.  It was years ago that these particular verses caught my eye.  I remember catching my breath when I read them and they began to sink into my brain.  The first part is easy. God don’t let me be lied too, by anyone. That I definitely crave in this world filled with so much lying and deceit.  Help me always to see the truth.

It’s the second part that is more challenging.  Lord, let me live paycheck to paycheck. That’s essentially what Agur is asking here.

Agur’s name, by the way, means “stranger”.  There is very little known about him, very little I could find on him.  He’s writing this letter to a couple of his friends. He appears to be a man of wisdom.  He is definitely a man of courage. Of course, in his day and age, the term “daily bread” was much more real, as they had to bake it fresh every day.  We just have to run to the grocery store for our, it usually lasts a few days, even a week.

Let’s be honest, who wants to live paycheck to paycheck? None of us. We want money in the bank, retirement’s fully funded and all of our financial worries taken care of for us. That is not what grows us closer to God. What grows us close to God is our dependence on Him FOR our daily bread. Here in America, there are very few of us who have to worry about where our bread is coming from today.  Even if you don’t think you’re rich, you are, just because you live in America. If you have a roof over your head, a bed to sleep in and food in the refrigerator you are in the top 8% of the wealthiest people in the world.

It’s what makes us less dependent on God, not more dependent on Him.

It’s a hard prayer to pray, let me live paycheck to paycheck so I can be more dependent on You, God.  Let’s start small, let’s start by thanking Him for our Daily Bread which He has given us in such abundance.  Let’s be grateful for His provision that provides for us to live in the wealthiest country in the world. Let’s pray, each day we draw closer to Him, no matter how much bread we have.  Let’s be grateful we don’t have to bake our bread, it comes neatly wrapped and sliced for us.

Read Proverbs Chapter 29.

“Without revelation people run wild, but one who follows divine instruction will be happy.”  Proverbs 29:18

Revelation in this verse means direct, specific communication between God and people, a guiding communication from the Lord.  It can be in the form of a vision or dream, or it can be His written word. The primary essence isn’t the way it is revealed to you, but the message that is being conveyed.  It’s God’s will being revealed to you.

One of the primary questions I get asked is this: “How do I know what God’s will is?”

Eighty percent of God’s will has been revealed to all of us through His word, the Bible.  The Bible is a collection of revelations to 40 people who wrote them down over a span of 1500 years.  Moses is the one who comes to mind for most people, as he is the one God gave the 10 commandments too.

Did you know the 10 commandments are all about relationships?  The first four commandments are about our relationship with God.  The last six are about our relationship with others. It can be considered your quick start guide to good relationships:

1. You shall have no other Gods before me
2. You shall not make for yourselves an idol
3. You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God
4. Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy
5. Honor your father and your mother
6. You shall not murder
7. You shall not commit adultery
8. You shall not steal
9. You shall not give false testimony
10. You shall not covet

God has already revealed 80% of what we are to do to have life and have it to the fullest (John 10:10 NIV).  If we aren’t applying that to our lives, why should He reveal the other 20% to us? Often times, when it comes to God’s will, we miss the forest because of the trees.  We’re so focused on the details of a situation, we can’t see the whole of it. The whole part of the situation means looking at our part in it, objectively, honestly, completely.

If you’re looking for God’s will in your life, start with the divine instruction He’s already given us: His word.

Read Proverbs Chapter 28.

“A greedy person stirs up conflict, but whoever trust in the Lord will prosper.”  Proverbs 28:25 CSB

Greed is something that can trap the best of us.  My husband and I watched the movie “Triple Frontier” on Netflix.  It’s an action packed adventure movie about a group of buddies who served in the elite forces in the military.  All upstanding men who had had good careers looking for one last adventure. I don’t want to give away the movie, but it involves making millions of dollars if successful.

They make their plan, just as in days of old when they were serving their country.  They timed everything perfectly. There was one slight difference in this mission versus the others they had completed, no one was watching.  They were on their own. The only ones they had to report too were each other. As the movie unfolds, everything is going according to plan.  They find the money and it’s more than they could ever imagine. It’s more than they can possibly take with them. They begin the laborious job of loading up bags full of cash, stacks of $100 bills.

That’s when greed shows it’s ugly face.  There is one pivotal moment when they have run out of time, and need to leave.  But they can’t get enough. They just want one more bag. Just a few more minutes.  That decision changes the course of the movie. Greed changes the course of the mission; conflict has arrived.

Wouldn’t we all be tempted to fill one more bag?  Wouldn’t we all risk five more minutes if it meant another million dollars?  They already had a van full of money that would of supported them the rest of their lives, but they needed just one more.

Greed comes in the form of just one more.  One more bite of food. One more pair of shoes.  One more drink. Just one more. True prosperity comes only one way, through the Lord.  Prosperity isn’t who has the most toys, it is who trusts in the Lord, for everything. All we have, all we will have comes from the Lord.  He gives us the air we breathe, the food we eat, the money we spend.

We don’t need just one more, we just need God.