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
29:8-9 (KJV): 8 Scornful men bring a city
into a snare: but wise men turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man contendeth with a foolish man, whether he rage or laugh, there
is no rest.
Proverbs
29:8-9 (AMP): 8 Scoffers set a city afire
(inflaming the minds of the people), but wise men turn away wrath.
9 If a wise man has an argument with a foolish man, the fool only rages or
laughs, and there is no rest.
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses
from Proverbs tell us that a scornful person will
incite others by their contentious natures, and it can spread to the whole city,
while a wise man will seek to bring peace among people. Also, if a wise
man and a foolish man get into a disagreement, the foolish man will only scoff
and rage more, so there can be no peace between them.
Verse 8
shows us how a riot in a city is started. It is usually with one person who then
gets others to take up his grievance and then the disgruntled group will incite
others to join their cause. This same thing happens in churches when one
person gets upset about something and begins to criticize those in leadership.
Others then will take up the upset party's offense and soon they begin to murmur
and complain. Instead of going to the pastor and discussing the problem
and offering to pray about it, they fall into the trap of the devil and begin
stirring up strife in the fellowship. In the Old Testament of the Bible,
God dealt with those who murmured about conditions in a very strong way.
1 Corinthians
10:9-12:
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were
destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the
destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written
for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Murmuring and
complaining never help a situation, they only make it worse, and discouragement
will spread to all those who are around. God has given us great and mighty
promises and when we murmur and complain about our circumstances, it hinders our
faith. Praising God, in spite of what is happening, releases our faith to
receive our needed miracle. We
should always have the attitude of praise and thanksgiving toward God in our
hearts, no matter what kind of trial or trouble we are going through. The Bible
tells us in I Thessalonians 5:18, "In everything give thanks: for this is the
will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you." Now let us notice the Scripture
says to praise God in everything, not for everything. It is the
will of God to always be thankful. Everything that happens to us is not always
the will of God.
One of the first things we need to know about God is
that He is the source of all good things. He loves us. In fact, the
Scripture says He loved us so much He sent His Son, Jesus, to die for us
so that we might have life and have it more abundantly. We should not
believe in praising God for tragedies, for sickness, for bad things; yet
we should believe in praising Him in the midst of these circumstances.
The bad things did not come from God and we don't want to blame the Lord
for something the devil sent. Our God is not the author of sickness,
sin, tragedies, sorrow and heartache. The devil is the one who sends
these things, and then tries to get us to blame them on the Lord. God is
on our side, and when we begin blaming God and murmuring against Him, we
have fallen into the devil's trap. We invite the "destroyer" into our
lives when we yield to the devil's temptation to accuse God for our
troubles. This was the source of Job's problems, until he saw the light
and repented for uttering things he did not understand.
Job 42:1-6:
1 Then Job answered the LORD, and said,
2 I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be
withholden from thee.
3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I
uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew
not.
4 Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak: I will demand of thee, and
declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth
thee.
6 Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.
Verse 9 in our study today talks about a
foolish man and a wise man who disagree. Because a foolish man's
spiritual eyes are blinded, he can never see the truth and viewpoint of
a wise man; therefore he will only laugh and mock those who walk in
God's wisdom.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4:
3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
I thank You for giving us Your wisdom. Lord, may I never blame You when the
enemy is attacking me with something evil. Lord, please deliver me from
any trace of murmuring and complaining when I am faced with trials in this life.
May I instead put on the armor of God and use my faith to put the enemy to
flight. May I always trust You to bring me the victory over everything the enemy
tries to defeat me with. I declare that he is a defeated foe and that no weapon
formed against me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises up against me in
judgment, You shall prove to be wrong. I thank You for the victory in Jesus
name! Amen.
