” What is Success?” Wisdom Series ( Proverbs 8:11-13&13-15, & 35-36)

Vida4U ” What is Success?” Wisdom Series ( Proverbs 8:11-13&13-15, & 35-36)

“All the words of my mouth are in righteousness; there is nothing froward or perverse in them.” It’s amazing how confusing we can make the scriptures and reinterpret them when there is motive in our heart to do so. If we find the need to justify a belief or action we can probably pull a verse out of context that will help us to achieve this. However as mentioned in a prior Vida, we leave God behind. Therefore then, what is the point? It is much better to be honest with God and ask Him to help us to understand.

“They are all plain to him that understandeth and right to them that find (seek) knowledge.” “Plain to him that understandeth” implies a heart that seeks God for God, not with any pretense or need to defend, or to prove a position.When in humility I come to God simply because He is the life giver and I am in need of His life, the scriptures become clear. When something other than that approach is present is when we start having problems. We say this verse really means this, because in its current understanding it speaks against something we want. The more my heart just wants to know the Lord, willing to give up that which is causing the conflict, the more purposeful and meaningful become the scriptures. In this context the Holy Spirit is able to use His written Word to penetrate my heart, taking away selfishness, fear, lust, pride etc., and replacing these carnal attitudes with the secure knowledge of being loved.

Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it. There’s Godly learning that frees you from the values of this life, which are temporal. These temporal values can trap us, enslaving us to a life of debt. However the confidence that comes with His love, frees us from the need to be anything but His child. To “trade in” something that is temporal for something that is eternal is what receiving Godly instruction teaches you. How can there even be any comparison or even much grief over such an exchange? As my heart and mind learn to make Godly  decisions, my life will become more stable not needing to second guess my decisions.

Pride is such a stumbling block to our walk with God. Because of it we feel or say that God’s Word is irrelevant and that we do not need to follow it. Or we say it has been reinterpreted incorrectly an hence is inaccurate. I would say that your god is very small. Cannot He who created the world not preserve His Word? Is man greater than God that he can overrule God? There is not a page of scripture that the Holy Spirit has not used to teach me and quicken my spirit. To downgrade the scriptures to something less than God’s written Word is really just an excuse from a heart that does not want to surrender to God’s rule of order which He is FULLY entitled to have. Does the pot say to its maker why did you make me as such? Or does a child defy it’s parents,  dictating the rules of the home? I would hope not, what chaos and disorder there would be. Hence this is why our world is in the state that it is in.  We have openly defied God, disallowing His claim as Lord and not only reaping the consequences of that, but also not enjoying or experiencing His love. It is a lose, lose situation. We lose and He loses, for His heart wants nothing more than to be in communion with us, His creation and He uses His Word to teach and correct.

Not only is this important to realize but look at the freedom we have by reverencing the Lord.  We naturally  will ” hate evil, pride, arrogance, the evil way and the forward mouth.” No great lost, I won’t miss any of these vices that enslave the souls of men. My  reverence of the Lord and His Word makes me a free man.

We say that hindsight is 20/20. In other words looking back on an event or a past action you would say knowing what I know now I would have said this or done that. By receiving God’s instructions now and ordering our life accordingly we minimize our regrets. Making right decisions as we are moving forward in life is not hard to do when you rightly value that which He values. I may think that a job promotion is what I need to be happy, or being in a relationship with this person, or saving  this amount of money. If I have one or all these I now can feel secure. However the Holy Spirit teaches me that the only true security is in Him. He and He alone is able to keep us through the storms of life. For we are all subject to the ups and downs of this life. Wether or not we have the perfect job, or married the right person, or are financially secure challenges, painful events, even tragedies happen to us all.

One of my favorite Bible figures is Joshua. Alone in the wilderness, and I presume he is praying, he sees this soldier,” And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?

Joshua shows great security and confidence as he goes over to this stranger, prepared to fight him. I’m sure this stranger looked formidable with his sword drawn, and probably a bigger man. However Joshua showed no fear in taking him on. What was the source of Joshua’s courage? It is revealed in the next verse. In being faced with his heavenly counterpart he demonstrates immediate reverence. Some believe that this is the Lord Jesus because of the statement “take off your sandals.” The Lord said this to Moses, but we do not see Angels saying this, e.g. Mary’s announcement of being the mother of Jesus, or Elizabeth announcement of baring John the Baptist.

 This is such a great lesson in humility. Why do we fear, why do we worry so and trouble our soul late into the evenings? Humility says God is bigger still! We must often, and learn to love to say, as John the Baptist,”I must decrease and He must increase.” As God increases in us, the greater our freedom. Watch yourself, learn to read your soul. Our fears and worries reveal to us our weaknesses. Use these human reactions to show you what scriptures you need to meditate on, and by it become the stronger. Armor upon armor until there is no weakness but a perfect, quiet, abiding trust in a Father that cannot fail.  (Will finish these verses next week).