So you want the good things in life. Proverbs 3 holds the answers.
Lengthening life and adding time to the day are desires often pursued. Proverbs 3 says the way to have length of days, which by modern standards is longer life and more time, is to have a heart that keeps God‘s commands. According to biblical definitions, “keeping” means to watch over, guard, observe, and keep close. This kind of keeping of God‘s commands means purposefully focusing on the word of God. When we make the word of God a priority, God makes the difference in our time.
Proverbs 3 offers tips for most of the things we attempt to pursue.
We want favor with God and favor with man. We can enjoy it when we bind mercy and truth around our neck and write them on the tablet of our heart. Mercy and truth can become visible to others as an outward demonstration of our consistent, inward character. The balance of mercy and truth is doing right and simultaneously being gracious about it, something both God and man view in a positive light.
Our quest for God’s direction for our lives is also satisfied in this chapter. Proverbs instructs to trust God fully and to acknowledge Him to find direction. To acknowledge Him is more than giving a cursory nod in the general direction of God. It means to know and revere him. Trusting God with our ALL means not leaning to self. God-reliance leads to God’s way.
The cost of health insurance and gym memberships confirm our desire for good health. Proverbs says healthy bones and flesh come through not trusting our own wisdom, avoiding pride, and departing from evil. Fearing God and departing from evil makes an inward shift in thoughts and a resulting shift and actions. Departing from evil is defined as removing bad, sad, wicked, despairing, and disagreeable thoughts and actions from our lives. Statistics show that health issues are often related to thought processes. Proverbs 3 confirms that. Removing bad thoughts and replacing them with God thoughts has healthy benefits.
What does this chapter advise about prosperity? If we honor God with our first fruits and our possessions we can have God’s provision. First fruits are the beginning, the chiefest, the choice part. Giving God tithes before our finances are absorbed by other things and then making a conscious effort to take the remainder of our provisions and use them for His glory is a sure way to keep the flow of provision open in our lives.
Happiness, the oft allusive pursuit, according to Proverbs, can be achieved through finding wisdom and getting understanding. This is true because wisdom and understanding, which begin with fearing the Lord, lead to the ability to acquire things that are of true value. Through wisdom that comes from a God-relationship, we gain eternal blessings as well as enjoy temporal benefits. Having wisdom that is directed by God’s perception, leads to the pleasant places of the inner man. If God created all of the wonders that we enjoy by His wisdom, He is more than able to provide eternal delight as well as our necessities of life.
Peaceful sleep that arises from the security of safety results from wisdom and discretion as well. When troubles come, we don’t have to be shaken with terror or filled with anxiety. We are assured safety because our fear of the Lord gives us confidence in God. Therefore, though things might not be alright, WE can be. Therein lies security and peace.
There’s a life most of us want to live. Proverbs 3 provides the tools with which we can begin to build that life, secured on the sure foundation of faith in a trustworthy God.
Tip/tidbit: Scripture has the answer for everything, and it always begins with a full connection with God. Relationship with God always leads to the best kinds of blessing. Connect with His love and His Word today.
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