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 3:27-29(KJV):  "Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it. 28 Say not unto thy neighbour, Go, and come again, and to morrow I will give; when thou hast it by thee.
29 Devise not evil against thy neighbour, seeing he dwelleth securely by thee."

Thoughts for the Day:

The Bible records so much good practical advice in the book of Proverbs. In these verses, we find instructions in regard to repayment of a loan or a favor. Here, we are told if we have the resources that are due to someone, we should pay them and not put them off.  Many times friendships are strained, due to one person loaning money or things to another person and they keep putting off payment without a just cause.  The Bible says in these verses that if we have it, we must not turn our neighbor away and tell him to come back later.

In this life, we all find ourselves in situations where we are asked to help someone.  How should we respond? If we are able to help, we should reach out to those in need.  This does not mean we are to give money to everyone who asks us, as there are many "con artists" and scams that are robbing people of their money.  These verses are referring to neighbors and friends, so this means we are to help the people we know. We must always pray about situations, as sometime money is not the answer to their need. We may need to give of ourselves in time and effort to really help in the matter.

What about helping strangers?  Although these verses are not referring to strangers, the Bible does address that kind of giving also. Being in the ministry for many years, we had many people come and ask for our help.   We always tried to reach out and help the best way we could. Since our church building was located on a busy highway, we had many transients who would come and ask for money.  We could smell alcohol on the breath of many of them.  We knew when they asked for money for food or gas, they would usually end up buying more alcohol. After praying about this problem, we came up with an answer.  We made arrangements with a local restaurant and gas station near the church to pay for meals and gas for people who ask for money for food or gas. In this manner, we knew our money was helping them, not hurting them. Of course, we always prayed for them too.  Even if we cannot help in giving monetarily, we can always pray for people.  Prayer is a form of giving also.

We are told in verse 29 to not talk about our neighbors nor do harm against them. As Christians, we should always try to live peaceably with all men. We should especially strive for peace with our neighbors, because we all need one another at times.  In the future, we might be the ones that will need to ask for help, instead of the one called to give. The Amplified Bible translates verse 29 this way:

Proverbs 3:29(AMP): "Do not contrive or dig up or cultivate evil against your neighbor, who dwells trustingly and confidently beside you."

James 2:8: "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well." 

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Father, Thank for the book of Proverbs.   There is so much good advice in this book   Help me to take it to heart and apply it to my life.  I see there is much is this book about relationships.   Lord, I know if I am to be in a right relationship with You, I must be in a right relationship with my family, friends and neighbors.  Help me to be a good neighbor. Help me also be sensitive to the needs of others. Help me guard my mouth and forgive me, as I have at times, spoken unkindly about others. Lord, help me to be a generous giver and to have your discernment in my giving.  I ask you to empower me with Your Holy Spirit so that I might be loving in all my ways and truly love my neighbor as myself. In Jesus name, Amen.