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 6:4-11(KJV): "Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
6 Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise:
7 Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
8 Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.
9 How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep:
11 So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man."

Thoughts for the Day:

Today's message from Proverbs is a warning to those who would use excessive sleep as an escape from responsibility. Verse 9 addresses a person the Bible calls a sluggard.  What does the word "sluggard" mean?  It comes from the same root word that our word "sluggish" comes from. It has the meaning of one being slow or lazy; actually a habitually lazy person.  In these verses there is a comparison made of those who sleep, because they dislike work, and those who are workers and provide for their house.

Verse 4 is not referring to those who get a good night's rest, but rather those who oversleep; thus becoming lazy. Verse 5 exhorts the one who is prone to becoming ensnared by this sin, to escape it. Escape it as a roe (deer) would run from a hunter who would shoot it, or as a bird that would escape a trap set for it.  In other words, the person who does not work, but becomes lazy, will surely end up in a trap of the devil that will lead to their destruction.

Verse 6, 7 & 8 point us to look at the ant, one of God's hardest working creatures.  We are told to be wise like the ants who  have no boss (guide, overseer, or ruler) standing over them, but continue to work hard anyway. Some people only work when they have to. Ants gather food (meat) in the summer and their food in the harvest season, so that when winter arrives, they will have plenty to eat.  Everyone of us experiences summer harvest times in our lives; so we should be diligent in those times, so that we may have plenty when our winters come. There is a saying that fits this warning perfectly.  It is -- "Make hay while the sun shines."

Verse 11 says that indolence will lead to poverty.  It will come like the birth of a baby when the mother begins to cry or travail. In other words, poverty brings pain.  Anyone who lives in poverty knows the pain of hunger and the bondage of not being able to do the things they desire. This verse also says that the one who escapes in sleep will not be able to escape the robber who comes and causes them to lack or want for things.

Verses 9 would be the Lord asking those who are lazy, "How long will you sleep?" and "When are you going to get up and go to work?"  In verse 10, we would hear the voice of the devil saying, "Just a little longer, just a little slumber, fold your hands and make a pillow and go to sleep." 

Let us wake up and go to work.  There are things we must do in our lives, things we need to do for our families, things waiting to be done for the Lord. We shall ask the Lord for His strength to do them all, just as Jesus declared He must do the work of His Father.

John 9:4: "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work."

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Father,  I thank you that you have given me a job to do. Forgive me if I complain at times, for all the work it involves. I am thankful that I can work, and that the devil does not have me in the trap of indolence.   I do need Your strength today, to do all that You require of me.  Lord, I know people who are lazy and I lift them up in prayer today.  I do not know why they refuse to take their responsibilities, but I do know that my criticism of them will not help them.  Instead, Lord, I pray for them to overcome their irresponsibility.   I pray that You will motivate and give them a reason to get up and go to work.   Lord, lift the discouragement from them.  Give them a desire to pursue the right things in their lives.  Help us all to labor in the kingdom of God.  In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen.