Proverbs: A Five Day Devotional

Do you need a little wisdom today? Hear directly from God through the words of Solomon. Dive into the book of Proverbs for the next five days!!!

Day One:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30

I used to say: “When I get old, I’ll just age gracefully.” Now that I’m 45, I’m starting to feel the need to fight it for all it’s worth!! Funny how time changes the way we feel about some things. So, what really makes a woman praiseworthy? According to this Proverbs, it is a woman who “fears the Lord.”

Interesting remark from a man that had 700 wives and 300 concubines (1 King 11:3). That’s a lot of estrogen!!!

I imagine as King Solomon grew older, so did his needs. Fading with the beauty of his wives was his youthful lust for physical contact. Instead, in his maturity, he would now long for true companionship more than anything. Thus, as he interacted with the many women in his life, those who most likely stood out were the women who were virtuous, loyal, and feared God. These are the women that Solomon would find comfort in; and thus, his revelation about a person’s inner beauty became obvious.

Today, let’s remember at the core of a Proverbs 31 woman is her fear of the Lord and that for that she is worthy of praise!

 

Day Two:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5

Do you often find yourself trying to figure life out all by yourself? It’s easy to fall into this mindset. We often assume God must be terribly busy with something extremely important and that what we are facing is probably incredibly small in comparison. Surely, we can fix the problem. Sometimes the answer just seems to be dangling out there in front of us.

But this verse from Proverbs teaches that we must trust God and not rely only on our understanding of the problem. God uses all kinds of situations to bring about the display of His glory. He so delicately sets up the circumstances that we could never imagine in our wildest dreams how it all fits together in His overall plan.

And when we overstep and try to resolve the issue without Him, well, we all know it usually doesn’t turn out so well.

For today, let’s practice tying down that free spirit of ours and allow the One who sees how all the parts fit together to guide us.  

 

Day Three:

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

Ever heard the saying: “You need to use that head of yours for something other than a coat rack.” At our house, my husband has used that phrase over and over to emphasize to our son that he needs to use his brain (aka, good sense) when making decisions. Especially, important ones!

As a society, we focus a lot on the power of our brain, but in the Bible, the heart is discussed more often. Why? I think the Lord answers that question in Proverbs 4:23.

Our spiritual heart contains multiple spaces in which we store experiences, memories, and emotions. It is our brain that helps us interpret these things, but the heart is the source from which they come. The heart can at times greatly influence the decisions we make either good or bad. From it can come actions of generosity, unconditional love, empathy, and compassion. Yet, from this same heart comes bitterness, backbiting, and anger.

When we find ourselves in a frustrating, fearful, or unloving state of mind, we need to turn back to our heart to find out what has caused these emotions to bubble to the surface. Once we can identify the deeply rooted source of our emotions, we need to acknowledge it and ask God to do a little spiritual surgery.

Are you guarding your heart? What steps can you take to make sure that you are not allowing certain things to take root in your heart and cause sinful emotions to build up?

 

Day Four:

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Proverbs 9:10

Proverbs 9:10 is probably one of my favorite Proverbs. Having gone through a period where I rediscovered my faith on a deeper level, it is my life verse. It is a great verse to emphasize to those in Christianity that appear to be going through the motions why they need to develop their relationship with Jesus further.

In essence, this proverb is telling us that we can “know of” God and have a deep reverence for Him, but still not “know” Jesus. And since we know that Jesus is the truth, the way, and life (John 14:6), just knowing of God doesn’t bring us into the authentic relationship that is necessary to either be saved from our sins or live the life Jesus came to bring us.

By entering into a relationship with Jesus, we gain an understanding of God and His ways that we cannot come to any other way.

Today, meditate on this verse. Consider whether you or someone you care about has knowledge of the Holy One. Use this verse to help others understand the difference between “knowing of” and “knowing.”

 

Day Five:

A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Coming from a nursing background, I can tell you this verse from Proverbs is TRUE. I cannot tell you how many patients I have cared for over the years that had a positive attitude and carried on through their diagnosis without issue, even when it ended in death. However, I have also witnessed numerous patients with a negative attitude tragically suffer through their illness day after day.

Even in the most dire of circumstances, Jesus can bring joy to our hearts. An infusion of joy makes life bearable. Joy is also considered one of the nine fruits of the Spirit. If we are allowing Jesus to rule in our life, we should have an abundance of joy to offset the times of grief and despair we all go through.

On the other hand, allowing a crushed spirit to remain within us only leads to a desperate existence.

But how do we get our joy back when we suffer some less than joyous moments in life? As tough as it is sometimes, there are some steps we can take to start turning the tide back to a life filled with joy:

  1. Keep your focus on Jesus!
  2. Count your blessings. (I know that sounds cliché, but we seriously forget how much He does for us until we purposely remember).
  3. Stay in the Word (so you can fine scriptures like Proverbs 17:22 to refresh you).
  4. Pray, pray, and pray. (Jesus would love to talk with you about what’s bothering you).

Today I pray that if you are going through something depressing, disappointing, frustrating, or just plain chaotic, that you will reach for the One that can bring joy back to your heart! It’s the best medicine there is.

 

Blessings to you and yours!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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