January 14 It’s Not Always That Simple

Long life is in wisdom’s right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed. ~Proverbs 3:16-18

“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the Kingdom of Light.” ~Colossians 1:9-12

Something interesting I have noticed is that in every book of the Bible that has a Chapter 3 and verse 16, such as John 3:16, and today Proverbs 3:16, they are all thematically linked! John 3:16 is the key verse, and all the other 3:16s connect with it. So, in today’s proverb, “Long life” speaks of the eternal life that is ours in Christ. It is a very pleasant gospel that brings peace and allows us to partake of the tree of life. Some time when you have the opportunity, I invite you to look up every 3:16 in the Bible and see what you think.

Today is a good day to introduce one of the more confusing aspects of Proverbs. When we read a proverb, such as the one mentioned today, we need to remember that it is based on observation. It is not a guaranteed promise from God, but a general observation, by man, of how life works.

I’m sure that all of us know of people who are very godly, and for all we know, upright in nature. Yet, they seem to experience major suffering which, from our point of view is very unfair. Then there are those who are taken from us much too early while mean, or maybe even evil people live to a ripe old age. We know poor people who are generous and rich people who are stingy. A claim like the ones in today’s verses in Proverbs may leave us scratching our heads because we often experience reality differently than what is stated here.

What needs to be said about today’s verses is that they are generally true even though we may know experiences to the contrary. Generally, when we live with God’s wisdom, we will stay healthier and thus live longer because we are taking better care of ourselves than if we just let ourselves drift. When we handle our finances responsibly, we will be much better off than if we show little restraint and live like we have holes in our pockets and give no thought to our future. Also, living with wisdom or not, we do create a reputation for ourselves. Those who live in God’s wisdom, come to be known as trustworthy and thus become better respected and honored. Not everything we experience in life may be pleasant. But, doing life His way will prove to be more pleasant than if we don’t. While we don’t always experience peace, knowing how to handle conflict, not avoid it, enables us to live with everyone in a more manageable way than to always be at odds, only accepting our own way or putting up walls.

Paul knew that the life that God was calling the Colossians to would be a difficult one. It would be much like those we mentioned at the beginning of this devotional. Walking with Christ was going to be the wisest decision that these people would make, but it would require His wisdom to also maintain it. Yet, Paul also prayed that they would endure and become a blessing to others. As it says: in Proverbs: “She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.” Paul knew that the life they had chosen would be a blessing to them and bring life to others as they employed His wisdom to make it through.

Life on this earth is hard. Often, we can feel as though we are living wisely and doing the right thing, but instead of experiencing blessing we feel punished for our efforts. These verses from Proverbs don’t seem to apply to the reality that we know. It’s understandable that we can be discouraged in the moment. Just remember, if you are still alive, and if you are reading this I’m assuming that you are, your final chapter on this earth hasn’t been written. And, even if your final chapter here is a rough one, at your death here, you will be just turning the page to life in glory where we are promised happy endings with long life, peace, prosperity and blessing, for His name’s sake, in His glory, forever!

Prayer: Dear Father, we all know that life has its ups and downs. Job's story teaches us that faith and wisdom do not always guarantee that nothing bad will happen to us, and that sometimes the wicked seem to prosper on this life. I'm going to rely in the greatest piece of wisdom of all, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight [and direct your steps]." Thank You, Lord, that I can always have complete confidence in you to see me through. In Jesus' name, amen.

Because He Lives