Wednesday, May 11, 2022
5-12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this.
-Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways, acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
10, then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as a father the son in whom he delights.
Verses 5-6 studies: Leaning from a physical aspect puts weight on something while resting. You are trusting that person or thing to hold you up. When we have an essential decision to make, we usually believe that we can’t trust anyone, not even God. God knows what’s best for us; he created us! He is a better judge of what we want than we are. We have to trust him in the choices we make. We shouldn’t overlook careful thinking or belittle our God-given ability to reason, but we shouldn’t trust our own ideas to the point that we ignore them. We should not be wise in our own eyes. We should be willing to listen and be corrected by God’s Word and wise counselors. Bring all decisions to God in prayer, use the Bible as your guide, and follow God’s leading. He will make your paths right by guiding and protecting you.
Verse 6 study: To receive God’s guidance, we must acknowledge God. This means we have to turn every area of our lives over to God. Matthew 6:33 reminds us that Jesus emphasized the same truth. Take a look at your core values and priorities. Ask yourself what is important to you? In your areas, where have you not acknowledged him? What is his advice to you? In many of your areas, you acknowledge him, but there are some areas where you restrict him or ignore him. That will cause grief in your life. To steer away from it, make him a vital part of your decision-making; he will guide you because you are working to accomplish his purpose.
Verses 11-12 studies: Righteous people are not always successful; we regard life adversity and discipline. Discipline means to “teach and train.” Discipline is shined negatively because disciplinarians are not loving. God is the source of our love. He doesn’t punish us because he likes to see us in pain; he is concerned about our development. To become strong and good, God knows we have to learn right and wrong. His loving discipline activates us to do that.
It is hard to know if God is disciplining us until we look back at the situation. Not all the time does it come from God, but we rebel against God and refuse to repent when God has identified sin; he may use guilt, crises, or bad experiences to bring us back. Difficult times come when there is no sin in our lives. Our response should be patience, integrity, and confidence that God will show us what to do.
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