Proverbs 17

Proverbs 17:17 states “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.” How very true is that! I’m sure everyone has had those “friends” who are with you when times are good, but desert you when things get tough. It hurts to have trusted someone, only to have them hurt you, leave you, disappoint you in your time of need. It can cause you to be bitter, untrusting, and afraid to let anyone close. But, fortunately, that is not the only type of person in this world.

This passage speaks of a true friend, and how you can recognize them. Someone who loves you all the time, someone who is there when times get rough, not only there, but also there to support and help. As Christians, that is who we are supposed to be to one another, a true friend “through thick and thin”.

I am very fortunate to have true friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, ones who are there with me through it all, good times and bad. I know and can trust, when adversity strikes, they show up to help me through. Thank the Lord for friends such as these, it would be a dreary world without them. God bless and keep you all!

Proverbs 16

I’ve been struggling a lot with failure, forgotten dreams, unfinished goals; all of which had me questioning my abilities, experience, and life. However, upon further scrutiny, I looked at those goals and searched for the Lord, they were not His, but mine!

Proverbs 16:3 states, “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” If I’m tired of failure, then I need to seek the Lord for His plan for my life, seek His will and direction, commit my actions and efforts to Him and His glory, only then will I succeed, and success will be all the sweeter, for it will be God working through me, not me alone. Now that’s success on a whole higher level!? Right?

Remember, God loves you and wants the very best for you, commit your life and plans to Him, and succeed with beaming confidence that you allowed Him to be glorified and shine to the world, and He will be very pleased!

Proverbs 12 - Lies

Lies are hurtful, deceitful, and can cause great misery. I’m sure, if we are honest, we can admit that we all have lied, right? I know I have, many, many times. If you say “no”, then you have, you’re lying right now! :D I’m sure we have all been hurt by lies too, right? We never have trouble admitting that one. In fact, I’m sure we could speak for hours on times when someone else’s lies have hurt us deeply, caused misery, built resentment, destroyed relationships, etc.

Eventhough it has happened to us, we still lie ourselves, why? I think it’s because, when you’re on the “giving end” of a lie, it appears as the “easy way out”. If I tell the truth, I’ll get in trouble or they will hate me or it’s tough. You see, we’re focusing on OUR OWN feelings when we lie, not the feelings of others, we only care about US not those whom the lie might hurt. But what we miss, is that lying also destroys us in the end.

The truth will come out, eventually, and I think we all can attest to how bad it is then. You usually get in more trouble, are disliked even more and find it’s a lot tougher when you are caught in a lie than if you would have told the truth from the beginning, right? If you don’t think so, if you think “it doesn’t hurt anyone”, then look at the American Idol tryouts for an example. Look at all those people totally shocked that the panel, particularly Simon, thinks they sound horrible. They know they sound good, people have told them that all their life. How innocent is that little lie now?

We know lying hurts, then why do we do it? Moment of stupidity? Maybe. Maybe this lie won’t turn out badly like the others? Possibly. That no one will know? Now we’re hitting the truth. We think that no one will know or find out that we are lying, that we’ve “gotten away with it” before, and we can again. That’s why I believe we continue to lie. However, we’re wrong there too, God knows. He knows everything about us, so He knows when we lie and the Bible says God DETESTS it! ²² “The LORD detests lying lips, but he delights in men who are truthful”. God the Creator of all, the One who loves us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us detests lying. I don’t know about you, but that strikes a nerve today. I don’t want to do things that God detests, especially not after all He has done for me, but that is exactly what I do when I lie. He knows, He sees, the lie hurts others and God too. I can imagine the pained expression on Gods face when I lie, the hurt and disgust He feels, I don’t want to do that to Him, and I’m sure you don’t either. I want to bring God joy, see His smiling face, know that I have done well in His sight, as I’m sure you do too. So join with me today in speaking only truth, in which God delights, it may be a tough change for us, but it is a start and we won’t be alone, God will be with us.

Dear Lord, please forgive me for my lies, how they hurt you and others, and please give me the strength and courage to tell the truth today, to bring delight to You and others, so You will be glorified. Amen.