OBEDIENCE

Proverbs 3:5-10

Thoughts for the Day

5-8 These particular verses give us a promise of health if we do certain things. We are admonished here, to trust God with all of our hearts and not to lean to our own understanding. The Lord is not saying we are not to use our minds, but rather when we do not understand what is happening in our lives, we are to trust God to show us what to do. Many times when we are going through a trial or facing a serious problem, we are tempted to blame God for our circumstances. In times such as this, we must not yield to Satan's accusations against our God, but rather, trust the Lord for the way out. If we acknowledge Him as our Lord, He promises to direct our paths and show us the way to overcome. Evil attacks against us or our family do not come from God, but originate from Satan to try and discourage us and ultimately destroy us.

9-10 In these verses we find another wonderful promise of God. This one has to do with material blessings. We are told here that if we honor God with our material belongings and put Him first, we will be blessed with plenty. When we study the Bible we find the Word of God addresses the people of that day and their culture. Since many were farmers or herders, many of the parables or admonitions would be shared in a way that they could identify with their surroundings or occupations. In these verses, the firstfruits represented their first harvest of crops; or the first lambs of their herds; or the first fruits from their orchards. Many had grape orchards and when their fruits were gathered they brought them to the grape presses which extracted the juice for wine. Since they did not have refrigeration, their grape juice did not take long to become wine.

If we are truly walking in the Spirit, we will always have the desire to give because it is the nature of God to give. Greed and stinginess are from Satan. If we are truly committed to God, giving will not be a burden, but rather a joy. God is calling us to be committed to the point where if He told us to leave all and follow Him, we would not hesitate. We find a rich man in the Bible that could not make this commitment, and he ultimately missed God's blessings for his life (Luke 18:18-25). Let us be faithful in the area of giving and we shall never lack in the things we really need as that is God's promise to us. Our barns will be filled with plenty.