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
30:18-19 (KJV): 18 There be three things
which are too wonderful for me, yea, four which I know not:
19 The way of an eagle in the air; the way of a serpent upon a rock; the way of
a ship in the midst of the sea; and the way of a man with a maid.
Proverbs
30:18-19 (AMP): 18 There are three things
which are too wonderful for me, yes, four which I do not understand:
19 The way of an eagle in the air, the way of a serpent upon a rock, the way of
a ship in the midst of the sea, and the way of a man with a maid.
Thoughts for the Day:
These verses
from Proverbs state that there are four things that
are very wonderful, and yet, mysterious: how an eagle flies, how a serpent
slithers, how a ship sails, and how a man and woman are attracted to one
another. Solomon respected these observations by Agur and included them in
his own book. We all wonder at times why things are the way they are. The only
and final answer is that God created them to act this way. God's creation
is truly amazing and we can learn many things by observing it.
First, looking at
the eagle, he is an amazing bird, not only in the way he flies, but also in his
other characteristics, as well. He is a bird who mounts up on wind currents to
soar and fly in the heights. Storms create the best wind drafts, so he flies the
best, when the winds are contrary. The Bible uses the eagle to describe
"overcoming Christians," because we can also fly above any storm of life by
mounting up in the presence of God.
Isaiah
40:28-31:
28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the LORD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is
no searching of his understanding.
29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth
strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly
fall:
31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount
up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk,
and not faint.
This is one of my
favorite verses. I have claimed it many times, to be able to complete the task at
hand, when I have been so weary that I thought I could not go on. The Lord has
never failed to give me the strength that I have needed, when I ask Him in faith
to help me. This scripture states that those who "wait upon the Lord" shall
renew their strength. What does it mean to "wait upon the Lord?" Certainly, the
first application of this would be to wait upon the Lord's timing, and to wait
for Him to show us what to do; however, there is also another application to the
meaning. When we dine in a restaurant, a "waiter" comes to our table to
serve us or "wait on us." When we are committed to serving God, then we are
"waiting on Him;" therefore, we will be given the strength for the task He has
given us to do. Even young men who do not know the Lord, will not have the
strength that we are given, when we obey Christ's commands.
Proverbs 30:19
speaks of the second thing that is amazing and that is the "serpent on the
rock." In Genesis 3, we read that the serpent did not always crawl on the
rocks, he was originally created as a beast; however, when he caused Adam and
Eve to fall, he was then reduced to an animal that had to crawl on its belly on
the ground, eating dust. Spiritually, the serpent, or the devil, feeds on men
(who are made from the dust), as all men crawl with him, until they are "born
again" and rise up to fly like the eagle.
Genesis
3:14-15:
14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art
cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly
shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and
her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
The third thing
that Agur mentions that amazed him is how a ship can sail in the ocean. There
are physical laws that God set in motion in the earth that govern how all things
operate. These are verifiable scientific laws. In the case of a ship floating in
the ocean, the laws that affect it are: the law of gravity, the law of motion,
the laws of nature, and the laws of the universe. Just looking at the size
and weight of a boat (especially in our day when we see warships constructed
from mega tons of steel) floating in a liquid like water, it looks impossible.
However, when one understands the invisible laws that govern such a feat, then
it becomes possible. In the Bible, we are asked to believe in spiritual things and
things we cannot see; yet, we know they are real, because we understand the law
of faith and the law of life in Christ Jesus.
Matthew
19:25-26:
25 When his disciples heard it, they were exceedingly amazed, saying, Who then
can be saved?
26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but
with God all things are possible.
The fourth thing
that was "too wonderful" for Agur was "the way of a man with a maid." The way a
man and woman are attracted to one another and "fall in love" is a very
wonderful gift that God gave to men and women. Erotic and sexual love was
designed by God, but has limits and boundaries attached to it. It is to only be
entered into within the bonds of matrimony.
Ephesians
5:23-27:
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the
church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their
own husbands in every thing.
25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave
himself for it;
26 That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Prayer for the Day:
Dear Heavenly Father,
You are amazing and wonderful! I stand in awe of Your great creation.
Lord, Your plans for mankind were good and perfect, and we have messed it up
because of our sins. Forgive us, Lord, and use us and help us now to
restore and correct those things the devil has used to destroy Your beautiful
creation. Give us grace to pray and reach out to those around us with the good
news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Change us to be like You, and use us
to change this world and bring about the kingdom of God in the earth. I ask in
the name of Jesus. Amen.
