when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. Proverbs 3:24

Don’t underestimate the power of a restful sleep. I love being able to sleep with a clear conscience, don’t you? You feel all refreshed and alive in the morning. You’re ready to face the day because you have made good decisions the day before.

I am reminded of an old Boy Scout song I sung at camp,

“softly falls the light of day, as the campfire fades away.

Silently each Scout should ask, have I done my daily task?

Have I kept my honor bright? Can I guiltless sleep tonight?

Have I done and have I dared everything to be prepared.”

Guiltless sleep is priceless.

Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. Proverbs 3:23

Sound judgment is sure footing. You have a clear path to walk on and that’s where you walk. You don’t swerve or veer off because you know that you’re on this path for a reason. So, what’s a practical application for this “theory?”

Your life. My life. It would be easy to “go along to get along” but we can’t do that. I’ve said this before in this space, but sometimes we just want to quit the fight. We’d rather give in from our seemingly boring existence. After all, you see people getting away with things right and left with little to no accountability. You’re tempted to ask, “what’s the use?”

This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.

This is where life happens.
You’re doing your job.
You’re raising your kids and grandkids;
You’re faithful to God.

Keep it up. Keep at it. It’s worth it. God’s worth it. You’ll never read that in the newspapers or on TV but you’re doing fine. You’re shining your light. You’re making a difference. Don’t lose heart. You’re sticking to the path. Don’t swerve now. Steady as she goes.

It’ll all be worth it. You’ll see.

they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Proverbs 3:22

Have you ever known someone to wear a necklace for years and years on end without ever taking it off. More than likely it was a keepsake from someone special? Occasionally people will ask you about it and you’ll gladly tell them the story.

Think of sound judgment and discernment like that keepsake necklace. If you keep it with you it will prolong your days, and people will ask you why you do what you do. What an opportunity.

My son, preserve sound judgment and discernment, do not let them out of your sight. Proverbs 3:21

The world is in desperate need for sound judgment and discernment. We make judgments about people and things every day. Often we are tested between making a “slightly” unethical but beneficial decision with one that doesn’t benefit us and could even hurt us. There is a temptation to compromise, to go for the temporary gain instead of having the foresight to know that temporary gains aren’t all they are cracked up to be. We need discernment in our decisions, in our value, ethics, morals, and in our family.

Alan Simpson, former Senator from Illinois, said it best: “If you have integrity, nothing else matters; if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters.”

by his knowledge the deeps were divided, and the clouds let drop the dew. Proverbs 3:20

When you consider the majesty of God, you often overlook the simple, almost mundane in His creation: the rain. The Psalmist describes it as dew from a cloud. We need rain just as much as we need the sun and a fairly warm climate to grow things in. It’s a simple thing really. God gave the clouds a nudge and down came the rain. God knew that we would need rain. Even in our lives, we need rain or what we would consider the bad times. Why? Because we are then able to appreciate when it’s totally sunny.

When you pray today, thank Him for the rain. And thank Him for the rain in your life, painful and troublesome as it may be.

By wisdom the LORD laid the earth’s foundations, by understanding he set the heavens in place; Proverbs 3:19

In today’s vernacular, we say “intelligent design” to mean creation. In other words, there must have been a Creator behind the world’s creation. This verse goes beyond intelligence; it speaks of wisdom and understanding. Not only did it take intelligence to put it all together, but it took wisdom to put the moving pieces in place and have them “play nicely” with one another. It took wisdom to make ecosystem and astronomic decisions. It took wisdom to heat and cool this earth at just the right temperatures day in and day out.

Intelligence is overrated; wisdom, on the other hand, is really underrated.

She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. Proverbs 3:18

I love the imagery here: a tree of life. A harvest of good fruit. Fresh green leaves. Full. Alive.

All that agonizing you do over making the correct decisions will pay off. All those prayers you prayed for wisdom will pay off. All the hours you spent studying God’s word and his wise servants will pay off. You’ll have a wisdom and a beauty that the world can’t touch or recreate on it own. But the tree doesn’t grow on its own. It needs nurturing, water, sun, good soil, and the blessing of God. And time.

Continue to ask God for the wisdom to make right choices and Godly thinking. Meditate on His word often. Get to know his wise servants.

Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. Proverbs 3:17

Have you ever grappled with a difficult decision? Remember the back and forth you played with it in your mind? Then it came time to “fish or cut bait.” You had to decide. It was agonizing. Painful even. Then you find out later that it was the wrong decision. Not an immoral one just wrong. That’s okay. Really it is.

Unfortunately, throughout life we are bound to make bad decisions. It’s a part of life. But just because a decision you find out later was a bad one doesn’t mean you can’t have peace about it when making it? It’s what I call “does it pass the peace test?” If I’d laid all my cards on the table and prayed over it all that I’d make the best and wisest decision, I’ll make it knowing that even if it’s not entirely correct, that’s all right. As long as I get back on the right track, it’ll be fine. It will. And when I make the decision, do I have peace about it?

Don’t overlook the peace factor when making decisions. It could be a deal breaker.

Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Proverbs 3:16

I love meeting and being in the present of Godly men and women. One such man I knew in Alaska invited me over to his home a couple of times. I was surprised to find a fairly bare cabin with sparsely furnished rooms. When Mel spoke (which wasn’t often), it was with authority and meaning. My Christian friends in Sudan are some of the richest people I’ve met, despite them having few material possessions of their own.

Both Mel and my Sudanese friends are rich beyond comparison. We just can’t see it by what they have inside their homes.

She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 3:15

Remember that $1 million you went searching for in your neighborhood yesterday?

It doesn’t compare to the wisdom we find in Scripture.

Not even close.

for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. Proverbs 3:14

If you knew that someone hid $1 million within one block of your house or apartment and would be yours if you found it, what would you do?

And yet the nuggets of wisdom (in the Bible and in Godly men and women) yield better returns than gold and are more profitable than silver.

Are we in hot pursuit of that?

Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, Proverbs 3:13

Again we come back to the idea of searching and searching for wisdom and understanding. It really is a never-ending, but worthwhile pursuit. A point in fact, we probably don’t realize exactly how valuable wisdom is or else we would drop some of the nonsensical things we do and go pursue it. And often the pursuit is going no farther than the Bible on your nightstand.

Ask God to give you the urgency to seek wisdom and insight. Then as you open the Bible, pray again for the wisdom to just jump out at you and you read.

My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. Proverbs 3:11-12

Rebukes often come in the least likely of ways. Friends can rebuke you. Strangely enough, your enemies can also rebuke you. It usually takes me a while to figure out I’ve been rebuked.

So what’s a rebuke intended to do? Discipline. Scolding. Guide you back to the Straight and Narrow. Don’t miss the rebukes that God sends our ways. Why? Because He loves us. He is constantly wooing us back to Himself, constantly calling us to follow Him.

Following Jesus isn’t a “set and forget” relationship where after it’s set up, you forget all about it? In today’s relationship terminology, we are often “high maintenance” (not that God ever is concerned or weary of drawing us back in, but there’s a constancy to keeping us in line).

Today, pray that you will have wisdom to recognize and obey God’s rebuke when it comes to us. It really is for our own good.

then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. Proverbs 3:10

A friend of a ministry I used to work for used to say that his business did better when he was spending his time in Haiti ministering to others than when he was actually in the office managing the business. There is a general principle here of letting go of your finances and watching God bless you. Some have no problem of letting go of their finances; others are tighter and less comfortable when it comes to giving money.

Yesterday I wrote about the goal giving twice the amount in 2010 than you’ve ever given. I only write that because some need to be stretched in that faith area. Perhaps you need to be stretched in giving away your time. We all need to be stretched from time to time. What’s your area?

Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops…Proverbs 3:9

This is a common passage pastors use when they speak of giving faithfully. We no longer live in an agrarian society but it would certainly be interesting to see the “first fruits” of apples, pumpkins, and watermelons. With those kinds of fruit, you know when they brought the best or just the best they could find at the time.

Since this website isn’t tied to a church (and I can’t be accused of encouraging you to give to our church or organization), let me be blunt: are you honoring the Lord with your wealth or are you stingy? (I dislike the word “stingy” probably because I get in very stingy habits more often than I care to admit).

I would like to challenge you on this: Make 2010 a year that you give twice as much as you’ve ever given. No one has to know about it. In fact, if others do know about it, that causes problems of its own. Ministries throughout the world are hurting. Find a missionary that you can give some of that “overflow” cash to.

Honor the Lord with your wealth.

This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:8

I don’t see the word “peace” in this text, but that’s certainly the implied meaning. Time and again, God has said that fearing the Lord brings peace. Your conscience is clean; you can sleep soundly at night. Think about those people who worry and fret all day long. They take those cares to bed with them. Their sleep isn’t peaceful or restful. We fall prey to those worries too, though we shouldn’t. Why not?

We know our Hope and our Destination. We know the Author of Life is also the Prince of Peace and the Ancient of Days. We’ve read the ending, Folks.

We know how it ends.

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. Proverbs 3:7

We get our wisdom from God. It certainly doesn’t come from our own insight, though I suppose occasionally we might stumble onto some truth. Gaining that wisdom comes from both fearing the Lord and shunning evil. I daresay that if you have that fear, shunning evil is the easy part.

But unfortunately, fearing the Lord isn’t quite as simple as that, or is it? Sure, we hear many voices calling us in different directions throughout the day. People and life events demand our attention. It’s during this time that we need the wisdom from God because “the good things” could easily overcome “the best things,” if that makes sense.

Fearing the Lord comes from an ongoing dialogue throughout the day between you and God. It comes from the day to day practice of acknowledging God in every aspect of our lives. Like I said, if we’re doing that, shunning evil is a “piece of cake.”

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding,
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6

For the past week I’ve focused on these two verses with good reason. Combined they will encourage your hearts as you walk daily in His ways. They will allow you to realize that life is more than things and you and your kids and the money you make. It’s much more than the political events that are shaping the world we live in. I know for me, the more I wander this world, the less I understand.

Hide these words in your heart. Bury them deep. Repeat them often. Pray them back to God. Pray them over your loved ones. They will be a comfort to you in the days ahead.

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

The second half to this verse can be misleading. It doesn’t say, “you will have no problems,” but that your paths will be made straight. Think of paths in general. Often they are merely an area that has been walked or driven over countless times. Grass doesn’t grow there anymore because it doesn’t have a chance to. There is direction in the path but not smoothness. In other words, you know where you’re going, but the ride or walk may be bumpy. But, and this is the key point, as long as you’re on the path, you’re on the right road.

When you are acknowledging God in all your ways, your paths will be straight but probably not smooth. You may face danger and hardship, and may even encounter evil, but you’re on the straight path. Your eyes are fixed on the finish line ahead, the City of the Great King.

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

Can you think of any ways that you are not acknowledging God in your life today? Before I encourage you to “just go and do it,” ask yourself why you are not acknowledging Him.

Your honest answer may surprise you.

in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:6

Almost always, when you hear the “Trust in the Lord” verse, you hear this come on the tail end. And with good reason. Acknowledging God in the things you do is important. It takes the focus off of you. It extends beyond the sports or show business testimony opening “I’d like to thank the Lord Jesus Christ for…” though it could include that. Without God in our lives, we’d be in a world of hurt. Yes, he saved you from a life of debauchery and sin twenty years ago, but he also saved you from that yesterday and today. You are trusting that He will save you from that tomorrow as well because you know that you don’t have to go down that path.

Take a brief account of your walk with the Lord today. Acknowledge those areas that He is, in fact, saving you from today. Then let the praise begin.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…Proverbs 3:5

If you are reading this on the day it was originally posted, it is Sunday in the United States. People all over the world will be celebrating this day as the Day of Our Lord. We don’t treck our way through two feet of snow in the middle of winter because of an obligation; we do so voluntarily and because we Trust in the Lord. Some may get paid to preach and sing in those churches, but for the most part it’s a labor of love. You trust that God will move through the music or the teaching or the fellowship with one another. It’s a trust that’s difficult to explain when asked, but very obvious to you.

Today is also a day of rest. Before the Big Game begins this evening, rest. Take a break from what you normally do. Go for a walk and meditate on the Goodness of God. Count your blessings. Refresh your soul. Renew that trust.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…Proverbs 3:5

If you’re anything like me, you sometimes walk around with a completely befuddled look on your face because of what is happening in the world. National economies are in turmoil, near genocides are occurring even as I write, earthquakes and floods wipe out entire areas, and there’s just a general sense that “all is not right with the world.”

And you’d be absolutely correct: All of these things are happening and all is not right with the world.

But you also need peace inside about it because it can be quite maddening.

A simple song written by John Stallings in 1969 can help us out here. You’ve probably sung it a few times.

Learning to lean, Learning to lean;
Learning to lean on Jesus…
Finding more power than I’ve ever dreamed,
I’m learning to lean on Jesus.

But here is the verse that gets overlooked:

You know, so many times
I’ve been sad and broken hearted
and I’ve knelt down in prayer
and I’ve found God’s peace that’s so serene;
And I’ve learned that all God will ask…
is a child like trust and faith and a heart
that’s willing and learning to lean.

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding…Proverbs 3:5

This is perhaps the most quoted verse in the book of Proverbs, and with good reason. There is just so much truth in those few words (and combined with the next verse).

If you’re like me, you like to know whys of puzzling situations. Why did that accident have to happen that maimed a child? Why have my children gone down a wayward path when I’ve cared and nurtured them in the ways of the Lord? Why is this happening to me especially now and in these circumstances?

But God definitely has the bigger picture in mind. Imagine working in the lives of 6 billion people one way or another, and at various stages of their growth and development. And that’s not even to mention how God is moving in entire nations and in the hearts of rulers for His purposes and His glory. I cannot comprehend it all, and neither can you. We’re not supposed to. Instead, we have our little worlds that we tend to and that He moves in. We get a glimpse of His glory on occasion and it compels us to move forward. We do try to put our own spin on why certain things happen, but it’s just that, our spin. We really don’t know many of the answers to the world’s most troubling questions. To use a common phrase in today’s world, “it’s above our pay grade.” And rightly so.

Suffice to say “God is in control.” It’s a trust issue and the sooner we leave the world’s overarching questions into His hands, the better off we’ll be to handle the problems we can handle. Admittedly, it’s a daily battle.

Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Proverbs 3:4

I think you’ll agree with me that there are those outside the faith who would love to see you “fall” spiritually. They would take glee in your downfall. On the other hand, you will meet those who, again outside the faith,  respect what you do and want to see you succeed.

One man I know was like that for me. He joked with me about my faith but when he heard about how I had messed up once, he chastised me because he didn’t want me to become like him and even said so.

How are you viewed in the Eyes of the World? I know that our aim should be to please God, but what about those around you? Do they respect you and your faith? Or do people see you as harsh and unloving? There will be those who mock us, but that’s fine. They’re supposed to do that! Just don’t give them a needless opportunity to mock you.

Pray that God will open your eyes to those blind spots in your walk with Christ. Ask someone you trust about your blind spots (don’t think that you don’t have them; we all do), and be ready for their response.

Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Proverbs 3:3

Love and faithfulness are high in demand but low in supply. It’s easy to stray in both areas. If we’re not careful, we can become bitter and grumpy because of life situations. It’s important for us to realize that “our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all (2 Corinthians 4:17). Many have gone before us and have experienced periods of doubt and embitterment. It’s natural in the course of things because Satan does not want your life to flow easily. If it did, He wouldn’t be doing his job! There’s always a battle, always a struggle.

Praise the Lord for His faithfulness and love toward us. Praise Him as you consider what He’s brought you out of and through. Reach out to a friend this week and encourage him/her. Plan out how to really bless that person. Make the encouragement lasting. Keep pressing on, Brothers and Sisters.

for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. Proverbs 3:2

Many will claim this and other similar verses in Proverbs as their “key” to prosperity. It’s sad really, especially as it relates to the broader church around the world. Some of the most prosperous people I know have only the clothes on their backs and live in huts. Why do I say this? Because they realize that there is more to prosperity than wealth and riches. Many of those same people have had their “riches” torn away from them by armies and corrupt governments, and they still have a solid, not-looking-back faith. One of those nations is Haiti.

When you hear the news about the faith of Haitians (and they will continue to appear in the news for some time), pray for them. Pray that their faith will be strong, and their fragrance would be notable (2 Corinthians 2:15). Pray also that others watching the nation rebuild will marvel at the faith of those who believe.

My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, Proverbs 3:1

This proverbs brings us back once again to the Year 2010 Challenge I gave in early January:

My challenge to you this year is this: find a passage of Scripture and commit it to memory. Fill up your memory hard drive with those verses. It may be one or it may be an entire chapter of Scripture. Make it reasonable but make it challenging (memorizing the entire New Testament, while admirable, isn’t very reasonable withoutt a solid plan to carry it out). Read it when you rise and when you go to bed. Print it on cards, Mutter it in the car on your way to work. Mumble it as you prepare supper each night.

When you know the passage as well as you know John 3:16, say it a few hundred times more. The goal here isn’t quantity of Scripture memorized but quality of the memorization. By the time you get to this point, you will have seen how transforming the Word of God can be in your life.

Ephesians 1, Ephesians 5, Psalm 1, Psalm 23, Psalm 112, Psalm 139, Galatians 2 are all great chapters of Scripture to memorize. Obviously there are others, many others to choose from. Choose one. You can do it. When you do, write and tell me. (Lord willing, and He is, I am finally going to nail Psalm 139 after a few years of learning bits and pieces of it).

Choose one of those passages and commit it to memory. Keep the commands of God in your heart. Study them. Meditate on them. Soak them in. It’s entirely doable.