Let not steadfast love and faithfulness forsake you;bind them around your neck;write them on the tablet of your heart. ~ Proverbs 3:3
“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;” ~ Proverbs 2:6
Today, where do we, as a nation and as individuals, look for wisdom, knowledge, and understanding? Too often, we go to our friends, to Google, or to Siri, to everything except where we need to go. This verse tells us that we need to go to God and His Word. He is perfect, so we can trust Him to always be true and right. He’s loving and we know that He will always do what’s best for us and what will bring Him glory – even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time.
But whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm. – Proverbs 1:33
At first glance, Proverbs appears to be a ‘do this and this will happen’ type of book. Well, in a way, it is. But, in other ways, it isn’t. It is not guaranteed that if you follow the Lord, your life will be perfect. We’re actually guaranteed the opposite.
“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” ~ 2 Timothy 3:12
“‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours…'” ~ John 15:18-20
However, through those hardships, if we trust God and remember that He knows what is best for us, we don’t have to live in fear. Not because we don’t have struggles, but because we trust in Him who loves us dearly and is more powerful and wonderful than we can ever imagine.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” ~ John 14:27
So, I’ve been away for way too long from this space. Lots of schoolwork and story writing can do that! However, I’ve also been working on a great new series called Pondering Proverbs.
I am super excited for this new series and I hope that you will be too. So, let’s find out what Pondering Proverbs is going to be like.
WHO: I wrote the devotionals to accompany Proverbs. They are meant for me and for YOU.
WHAT: One (in some cases two) verse(s) from a chapter in Proverbs and a short devotional about them. The first week’s verse will be from the first chapter, the second week’s verse from the second chapter, etc.
WHEN: Once every Tuesday for thirty-one weeks
WHERE: Right here! At For His Great Name.
WHY: Proverbs is such a wonderful book of wisdom. I feel like we sometimes just skim over as we read the book…proverb after proverb after proverb and we don’t always (or at least in my case) take the time to stop and think about what God is trying to teach us.
HOW: Through the internet, but, if you want to, you can email me any question and/or comments at alyssa@forhisgreatname.org and I’ll try to get back to you as soon as possible.
I hope to see you all here next Tuesday for our first verse!