Read: Pr. 16-18
We could spend a day on each proverb but I want to highlight only a few. Proverbs 16:2 says, “all the ways of a man are clean in his own eyes; but the Lord weighs the spirits.” I means that our journey may seem pure in our eyes but the Lord weighs and tests us on our expressions, functions, anger, courage and by what we think in the midst of a storm. All those words are the meaning of spirit in the Hebrew. It is easy to do the right thing when you aren’t being tempted or when everything is going your way but how we react in unexpected trials is what God measures us with. The next verse tells us how we can triumph in a storm: “commit your works to the Lord and your thought will be established.” “Works” in that verse has to do with what you do as an occupation, how you do it and what you possess. Our occupation is not just a job. It is the tool God has picked to refine us and conform us to his image. It is important how we honor it and our attitude.
The next verse, 4, is hard for us to comprehend. “God made all things for himself, even the wicked for the day of evil.” When I quote this verse, well-seasoned Christians look at me like I’m crazy. God created evil. Isaiah 45:7 says, “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.” So God created evil and the wicked. They are pawns in his hand just as Satan is to bring about judgment on the earth and to sharpen our resolves. If it wasn’t for the evil in the world we would not appreciate light and righteousness. One day the evil one will be thrown into the lake of fire.
Lord, thank you for choosing us to know you and be drawn to righteousness.
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