The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom of all kinds. I marvel at it often. This morning I'm reading chapter 16 again and again and asking God to teach me. Grace is what I want to learn because grace is the channel by which God manifests all His other characteristics. Grace is the master key to the application of wisdom.
We could go verse by verse and gain so much but here are a few bits and pieces.
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. It is better to be of a lowly spirit with the poor than to divide the spoil with the proud." - Proverbs 16:18-19 ESV
Yes! What am I looking for... the big score or the company of the humble?
"The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established." - Proverbs 16:1-3 ESV
The theme I'm seeing this morning in this chapter is the heart attitude that fuels ambition. Like any man I want to see big things happen. There is nothing wrong with that. Who is going to make those things happen?
"The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps. An oracle is on the lips of a king; his mouth does not sin in judgment. A just balance and scales are the LORD's; all the weights in the bag are his work." - Proverbs 16:9-11 ESV
All the weights are in God's bag. Those weights are 'grace' weights. They are perfectly balanced. No funny business here. God honestly functions in grace all the time.
The royal mind listens to a faithful witness. Am I listening to a faithful witness? The Bible tells me who I am and what I am. It also describes God. Has grace and mercy done it's humbling work so that I have ears to hear? That is what I long for.
"Good sense is a fountain of life to him who has it, but the instruction of fools is folly. The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death." - Proverbs 16:22-25 ESV
I lean hard on God. I can be a proud man with arrogance ideas and methods but there is another way. Grace. I must have it. I do have it. It has been given to me. Jesus never leaves me or forsakes me. He is the lowly One I want to keep company with. He is the King who has right words. His words of grace are like a honeycomb.
I want the great things He will do. I meditate on the great things He has done. I want to think big in vision but have a humble mind. Only He can produce that in me.
Yes God. Fill us with your Spirit. Put our feet firmly on the ground as our minds are focused on Heaven. Let Your will be done around us and around all those that love you and need You. You are the Alpha and Omega. Your work is perfect work.
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