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:
These verses in Proverbs address a
certain work ethic that deals with a life discipline that must be cultivated in
order to be successful in life, that is, overcoming laziness in the form of
sleeping too much. Sleeping is, of course, a necessary thing for our
bodies, just as eating is also necessary. However, when we overindulge in
food, we become fat and unhealthy, just as an overindulgence in sleep will
produce laziness, that in turn leads to poverty.
Discipline in the Christian life is one of the
hardest things to attain and we all need the help of the Holy Spirit in order to
accomplish a disciplined lifestyle. The Bible teaches that we should
practice moderation in all things.
Philippians 4:5: Let your moderation
be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Eating and sleeping are blessings that the
Lord created man to partake of in moderation. Eating was given for
pleasure and to sustain our bodies, while sleep was given to refresh our bodies
and our minds as well. The devil hates God's creation of man, so he works to
cause men to pervert the very things that God gave us as a blessing. In fact,
the very first sin man yielded to was one that caused him to eat something that
God told him not to eat. That one act of disobedience caused the fall of Adam
and Eve and, subsequently, all men since then.
Genesis 3:1-3:
1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God
had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of
every tree of the garden?
2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of
the garden:
3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.
Over-indulgence in sleep is also a sin that
will rob a man of his productivity, thus causing him not to prosper.
Getting up in the mornings and leaving enough time to pray and seek God about
the day and have a time of meditation and read a devotional is not an easy task.
However, it brings a great reward as we allow God to set the tone for the day
and guide us from the beginning. I have experienced days when I have
neglected to seek the Lord and my day did not get off to a good start. I would
end up facing some problem unprepared and then would be forced to stop and pray
and get back on track. It is much easier to pray preventative prayers than corrective
prayers.
Physicians tell us that we only need 7 to 10
hours of sleep to be refreshed. Part of our discipline is learning to go to bed
earlier. I remember when I was a young Christian, I struggled with getting
up early enough to include a time of prayer in my morning schedule and went to
the pastor to ask him to pray that I would be able to get up earlier and pray.
He didn't pray immediately; instead he asked me what time I went to bed in the
evenings. I told him I was a night owl and stayed up until 1:00 or 2:00
A.M. every day. He simply told me to go to bed earlier if I wanted to get up
earlier. I couldn't seem to conquer the habit at the time so I began
saying my morning prayers at night before I went to sleep. I would pray about
the next day and the Lord honored that arrangement until I could work on my bad
habit of staying up late. I still am more awake in the evenings than the
mornings as the Lord knows about that internal clock that needs adjusting. The main
thing the Lord showed me was the need to pray, and as long as I did it, He would
meet me morning, noon and/or night; however, taking time to pray all three times
like Daniel is the best (Daniel 6:10). He will meet you as well, as you take
time to seek Him any time throughout the day. We just need to
form good prayer habits and not allow oversleeping or any other thing to
prevent us from praying and seeking God, no matter what times during the day we
decide to seek Him.
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for Your
kindness toward me in working with me to overcome the areas of my life that need
more discipline. I do want a prayer life that is pleasing to You.
Help me in this endeavor. Correct those areas in my life that would hinder
me from spending more time with You. Grant me the grace to overcome any laziness
that tempts me. Fill me with Your Spirit this day and let me be a blessing in
this life to all I come in contact with. I ask this in the name of the
Lord, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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