Proverbs – Life SkillsWe asked ourselves what is going on? This has never happened to us before in our lifetimes. We’ve heard stories in history of losing loved ones because of war, protests that got violent, many forms of injustice and because of flu epidemics.
But we don’t feel anything when it doesn’t touch us personally. What doesn’t touch us personally we seem to ignore. We worry more about the troubling sound our car is making on the way to work, if the mail will come on time or if the milk is still good enough to pour over our Cheerios.
Our lives have been interrupted for an important announcement, breaking news, if you will…LIFE is not what it was. Living day to day will never be the same as it was in January and February. As of March, our lives were turned upside down and inside out. Fear of the unknown set in covering us with a cloud of doubt. What in the world is happening? What’s next? We ask ourselves these questions daily as we cloister inside our homes with our families, only going out for the essentials, fully sanitized with masks and gloves to get a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk.
What is God doing? Why is God not doing something about this so we can get back to our normal routines? We can’t go to the church building, sing songs, hear the message, go out to eat then go back to work on Monday and do it all again each week. We whine, complain, stew, get angry, look for peace, and wonder when it will all end.
Why are we moving from one disaster to another at breakneck speed?
Why is history repeating itself?
Who are we now as we go through what we have never gone through before?
Maybe we are asking the wrong questions–as we normally do.
Can we see God STILL at work…or not? Here is a Truth bomb, God is ALWAYS at work. When we are going about our daily routines, God is at work. When we sleep, God is at work. AND because of His created purpose in us and His love for us, God enjoys inviting us to His work. When God invites us to His work, will we be too involved in getting back to our normal lives that we will miss the invitation to the “party” of His best will and purpose for us? Will we miss the celebration of giving Him glory with our lives as we join Him in His work in obedience and gladness? EVEN if the work will look nothing like we imagined?
We are blinded. I am blinded by trying to continue life as it was in the midst of a very changing time. We/I need to open our eyes and see, truly see what God is doing. Because if we truly believe that we believe is real we will see that God never stops working. He has and always will be at work, not to give us what we want but to give us what we really need as He continues to transform us to be all He created us to be!
It’s all about God. He is God and we are not.
This proverb points out what will happen when we don’t see or acknowledge what God is doing…
Proverb 29, The Message
If People Can’t See What God Is Doing
For people who hate discipline and only get more stubborn,
There’ll come a day when life tumbles in and they break,
but by then it’ll be too late to help them.
2 When good people run things, everyone is glad,
but when the ruler is bad, everyone groans.
3 If you love wisdom, you’ll delight your parents,
but you’ll destroy their trust if you run with whores.
4 A leader of good judgment gives stability;
an exploiting leader leaves a trail of waste.
5 A flattering neighbor is up to no good; he’s probably planning to take advantage of you.
6 Evil people fall into their own traps;
good people run the other way, glad to escape.
7 The good-hearted understand what it’s like to be poor;
the hardhearted haven’t the faintest idea.
8 A gang of cynics can upset a whole city;
a group of sages can calm everyone down.
9 A sage trying to work things out with a fool
gets only scorn and sarcasm for his trouble.
10 Murderers hate honest people;
moral folks encourage them.
11 A fool lets it all hang out;
a sage quietly mulls it over.
12 When a leader listens to malicious gossip,
all the workers get infected with evil.
13 The poor and their abusers have at least something in common:
they can both see—their sight, God’s gift!
14 Leadership gains authority and respect when the voiceless poor are treated fairly.
15 Wise discipline imparts wisdom;
spoiled adolescents embarrass their parents.
16 When degenerates take charge, crime runs wild,
but the righteous will eventually observe their collapse.
17 Discipline your children; you’ll be glad you did— they’ll turn out delightful to live with.
18 If people can’t see what God is doing,
they stumble all over themselves;
But when they attend to what he reveals,
they are most blessed.
19 It takes more than talk to keep workers in line;
mere words go in one ear and out the other.
20 Observe the people who always talk before they think—
even simpletons are better off than they are.
21 If you let people treat you like a doormat, you’ll be quite forgotten in the end.
22 Angry people stir up a lot of discord;
the intemperate stir up trouble.
23 Pride lands you flat on your face;
humility prepares you for honors.
24 Befriend an outlaw
and become an enemy to yourself.
When the victims cry out,
you’ll be included in their curses
if you’re a coward to their cause in court.
25 The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.
26 Everyone tries to get help from the leader,
but only God will give us justice.
27 Good people can’t stand the sight of deliberate evil;
the wicked can’t stand the sight of well-chosen goodness.
HOLY PAUSEAm I growing more stubborn to God as He works in me to change me?
What has God provided “in these times” that we didn’t know we needed?
Do I love wisdom or whining? What do I run after?
Who do I listen to and seek after most in my life?
Where does my hope come from and who do I trusts most, no matter what happens next?
Truth: “The fear of human opinion disables;
trusting in God protects you from that.”
Dear Heavenly Father,I repent of whining and wishful thinking that is shallow and stunts my growth in living your way. Show us your power and glory today by opening our eyes to your work. Help us to be still in Your Presence and let go of worldly, human opinions and just trust in You. Change my heart, O God, but be gentle. Transform me.
“Open my eyes that I may see, glimpses of Truth you have for me”…
In Jesus Name, Amen
Daily Manna (Coffee with Jesus) 