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 21:1-2 (AMP):
1 The king's heart is in the hand of
the Lord as are the watercourses; He turns it whichever way He will.
2 Every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs and tries the
hearts.
These scriptures in the book of Proverbs
let us know that we can absolutely rely on God, as He ultimately is in charge of
all things and knows all things. These scriptures validate that God is not only
sovereign, but give us insight into His omniscience and His omnipresence.
The definition for these two words simply means this: omniscience means that God
has infinite knowledge knowing all things; while omnipresence means that God is
present in all places at the same time. These abilities are some of the things
that make Him God.
Verse 1 in this study is one of my
favorite faith scriptures. Why? Because I know that God has the power to change
the hearts of men, even kings. Why is this important? If the devil
has stirred some evil up in someone's heart against me, I know that I can pray
and the Lord can change that person's heart toward me. I am very thankful
that I learned this truth early on in my walk with God, as I have watched God
turn nasty situations around many times in my life. In fact, many times,
the very people the enemy was using to come against me, later came back to me
and apologized for their bad behavior as the Lord touched their hearts and
convicted them of their wrong attitudes and actions when I took an humble
posture toward them.
One of the greatest truths I have learned from
the Lord is that when I have relationship problems with anyone, I must turn to
the Lord in prayer as to why this is happening. I first examine my own
heart and ask God if any of my actions or attitudes precipitated the problem and
if I need to ask forgiveness for something. I have learned to humble
myself first to God, and then to the angry party. I also need to see if there is
anything that I need to change or mend. If I am right in a situation, and I
refuse to react wrongly, the Lord will then move on the other party's heart to
soften them. I must keep an attitude of love and respect toward others and
do as my Lord did and that is to trust God to defend me. Only God can
change people's hearts and if I truly obey God in learning how to overcome evil
with good, I will see hearts changed before me. That is what Jesus did as
recorded in 1 Peter 2:21-23:
21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us,
leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened
not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously.
Romans 12:19-21:
19 Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for
it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.
20 Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for
in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.
21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
Proverbs 13:10: Only by pride cometh
contention: but with the well advised is wisdom.
The Bible teaches us that contention comes by pride. So if we humble
ourselves, and refuse to be contentious, God will defend us and take bad
situations and turn them into something good for us and then we bring glory to
Him! Even if a King, or one that was in authority withstood
us, God can turn that man's heart to cause him to allow us to do the will of
God. It is easy for God, as he can change the course of a river.
Verse 2 of our study says that
everything that man wants to do is right in his own eyes, but the Lord looks on
the heart. God watches everything we do, but He goes deeper than
just viewing our deeds, He looks into our hearts to see what motivated those
deeds. We may do good deeds, but we may be doing those deeds just to get
the praise or attention of men, instead of doing the deed just so we could serve
or help others. Sometimes our deeds may not look to others as something
worthwhile; however, if we are obeying God and we are serving Him, and others
through those actions, then they are pleasing to Him. An example of this
might be of a mother who decided to stay home and take care of her children, and
raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, yet she is chided by other
women who are set on pursuing their careers. However, God looks at the
commitment of the stay-at-home mom as she ministers to those children and is
well pleased, as He sees the heart of a mother who puts her children before her
own desires. (Certainly it is not wrong for women to work outside the home. In
fact, some women have no choice as they are the soul provider. The point I am
making is that God sees our heart and when we follow Him in our daily lives, He
will bless all that we are doing; however, if we are selfish and do our own
thing, He sees that too, and we are weighed in His balances.)
Dear Heavenly Father, I thank You for
always being there for me. Lord, I do want to keep my heart right before
You, and before those people whom You have placed in my life. Please forgive me
when I fail to do the right thing. Strengthen me to be kind and good toward
others, especially my own family. Help me to overcome the fear of what men
think, and to be more concerned about what You think. I know that You look at my
heart and see things that are not pleasing to You. I give You the right to deal
with those things and remove them from my life. Help me to be meek and
lowly like You are, and not to allow pride to keep me from communicating with
those whom I would rather not have to deal with. Fill me with Your love and
wisdom in all my relationships. I humbly ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
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