Daily Devotional
               Betty Miller shares her daily devotionals which are based on the book of Proverbs in the Bible.   

  The Wisdom of God

Verses for the Day:

Proverbs 19:24-25 (KJV):
24 A slothful man hideth his hand in his bosom, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Smite a scorner, and the simple will beware: and reprove one that hath understanding, and he will understand knowledge.

Proverbs 19:24-25 (AMP):
24 The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, and will not so much as bring it to his mouth again.
25 Strike a scoffer, and the simple will learn prudence; reprove a man of understanding, and he will increase in knowledge.

Thoughts for the Day:

These verses in Proverbs describe the height of laziness and the need to deal with those that are scorners, as well as reproving the teachable. In verse 24 we have a description of a person known as a sluggard or a slothful person. The dictionary definition of these words is one who is habitually lazy, idle, or indolent. The lazy soul described here does not even want to feed himself.  We find many today who look to others to feed them, as they are too lazy to work.  Certainly there are times when we all must have help when hard times come to our door. However, this verse is talking about a habitually lazy person, not a true needy person. We need to pray for these people, as the Lord desires to touch and change their lives and give them a desire to live and work. 

Proverbs 13:4: "The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."

Verse 25 tells us that a scoffer should not be ignored, but rather dealt with.  In schools or meetings when a scoffer comes in and publicly tries to disturb a meeting, that one should not be allowed to take the platform and should be admonished and swiftly removed as an example to others who are watching, as they might be tempted to do the same thing.  Their scoffing should not be tolerated. Of course, all actions should be done with kindness, as much as is possible. However, when dealing with rebellious people, they make it difficult for all involved to handle many situations in a peaceful manner.

Over the years, while pastoring the church, we have been forced to deal with some difficult situations that arose in a service.  A woman at one time just got up during the service and starting admonishing us and our church with some very strong and unkind words.  We immediately asked the Lord how we should deal with it and He spoke to our hearts to walk over to her and lay hands on her and start praying for her.   The prayer was along these lines, " Lord, we know our sister is concerned about some things in this church and we ask you to work in all of our lives so that we remain a church that is loving and kind.  Help our sister to be loving also and to respect the others in this service and refrain from speaking out while another is speaking. Lord, let everything be done decently and in order."  She immediately sat down and we finished the service without a peep out of her. 

On another occasion, a strange man came to our services.  We acknowledged him as a visitor and when we did, he began chastising our whole church for things we were not guilty of, and then he prophesied that our whole church was going to be destroyed. This time, we simply told the man before all the people.  "Sir, we do not receive the words that you just spoke over this church.  Our church is a loving and kind church and your words of death do not come from our Lord."  He then proceeded to leave on his own and stomp out the back door.  After he left, we asked all of our people to bow their heads and we then said a prayer for this man to be delivered and know the true love of God.  We prayed that the Lord would deliver him from error and set him free of an accusing spirit.

We only had a few occasions where we had to deal with situations such as this, as we learned we could take authority in prayer ahead of time and bind any disturbing spirits from our meetings. When we would pray in advance that our services would be peaceful and glorify God and that all spirits sent from Satan would be bound away, the enemy was not able to bring in these kinds of disturbances.  As Christians, we can also command the devil to be bound from our homes and our lives so that we can live peaceably with all men.

Romans 12:17-18:
17 Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.
18 If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.

The last part of verse 25 also tells us that we are also to reprove a man who is sincere, if he is in error.  If we know someone is deceived and we love them, we will want to tell them of their error to help them.   Our motive should not be to hurt them in any way. If we share the truth in love and the person is a man of understanding, he will be grateful for the knowledge that he gains. If anyone admonishes us about something, we should take it to the Lord and ask Him if they are telling us the truth.  Sometimes, it may be told in the wrong manner to us; however, there may be a thread of truth in what they are saying and we should ask the Lord about it.  He may tell us we are right and they are wrong, or He may tell us there is truth in what they are saying.  The key is to take it to the Lord and ask Him.

Ephesians 4:14-15:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Heavenly Father, Thank You for helping me in my relationships with others.  I desire to be kind and gentle in my dealings in situations that require me to take corrective measures.  Help me to hear Your voice as to how to deal with unpleasant situations, whether it be with my children or those at work that I must manage.  May I treat others as kindly as possible every day.  Lord, I do not want to use my position of authority in the wrong way, but in a way that will be an example to others of Your Spirit in my life.  Thank you, for teaching me things I need to know and may I always have a teachable spirit.  I ask this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.