Open Hands vs Clenched Fists

¹⁶ How much better to get wisdom than gold,
    to get insight rather than silver!

https://youtu.be/YAy8LUmXPmo 

-Video through 1:23 illustrates point

A word from Matthew Henry in his commentary: “Many take care and pains to get wealth, and yet come short of it; but grace was never denied to any that sincerely sought it. There is vanity and vexation of spirit in getting wealth, but joy and satisfaction of spirit in getting wisdom. Great peace have those that love it.”

“There is vanity and vexation in the acquiring of wealth”, haven’t you found that to be true?  With fists clenched we can lose ourselves holding onto what we have, rather than interacting with the world through hands open, ready to serve.  Clenched fists frustrate.  Though they hold onto what is, they forever feel empty and in need of more.  There is a relentless pursuit for “more”.

When we seek wisdom and we walk in the ways of the Spirit, open hands receive His blessings and let them flow to others. Open hands serve and receive a boomerang blessing for the service provided. The upside down world of Kingdom living has us release to gain.

In this little video from “The Gods Must Be Crazy 2”, you will meet a baboon, that gets himself caught, because he could not unclench his fist.  We get stuck in the same way when we can’t let go of our wealth and the acquisition of wealth.  We are stuck holding on as we enter into bondage.  Today we are reminded to worship the hand that blesses, not the blessings He bestows.

Let’s pray:  Lord, thank you for this strong visual of what happens when we have clenched fists.  Help our faith trust in Your economy so that we can let go to receive more of You and what You have in store for us!  Help our faith, that when we don’t understand, we know that You do and You guide our steps.  Today I pray for my dear friend that is losing her job, Lord help her to let go into Your plans for her life and into Your blessings. I pray that her faith multiplies through this process and that she can sing praises to her King as she enters into the plans You have for her.

Love Wins

Kings hate to see anyone doing wrong, because kingdoms grow strong only when everyone is honest and fair. (ESV) Proverbs 16:12

In light of the Orlando shooting, and out of the greatest remorse for the victims, I wanted to look at today’s Proverb through the eyes of authority.  Kings, or those in authority, we are told by Solomon, are at their strongest when dealings are honest and fair within their domain of authority.

What happened to 49 innocent people in Orlando wasn’t honest or fair, it was an abomination of hate. The survivors find themselves in the hospital, fighting night terrors, physical and psychological damages as they bury their friends.  This is an affront to love. It is encouraging to see the nation pull behind the survivors and the victim’s families. It is good that we shower compassion and love.  It is wonderful that blood banks are being filled and that random acts of kindness are more prevalent today.  In this climate of compassion and love, reaching out and respect, our world thrives.  It becomes a bit gentler as love beats back the darkness.

This doesn’t change anything for those families that are mourning the loss of their loved ones.  My prayer is for those that are hurting today.  I pray that angels of mercy would draw close.  I can only imagine that you can’t make sense of a nonsensical killing spree, and that the hole in your heart would be lesser than the air that you try to breathe.  I pray you take one breath at a time.  That each breath is deeper and longer.  I pray for you in the days ahead and the sadness that engulfs you. I pray that hope would find its way into your existence again.  Psalm 34:18 promises that 

“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit.“.

I believe that the Spirit of the Lord makes up the very breath that you are breathing in today. He is that close, that personal.  I pray that His presence makes a difference in your every moments and in all of your senses.  I pray that as the dawn rises each morning, His presence in your heart, makes it easier to breathe again.  I pray for all of you, for each step you take to be one of healing and restoration.  I know it doesn’t feel like it today, but my prayer is that love wins.

His Weights and Measures

Honest scales and balances belong to the Lord;
    all the weights in the bag are of his making. Proverbs 16:11 NIV

This week we will be looking at authority and how to be a good leader. Our God demands honesty and truth in all that we do. We have His Holy Word to weigh all of our actions against. His precepts and His commandments are His making and we get to align ourselves according to their plumb line of righteousness.   Although this proverb speaks to commerce and the weighing of goods, I find a broader meaning: His weights, all of them are weights of truth. There is nothing on earth that stands outside the dominion of His weights and truth., all things are to be measured against His Word.

Sometimes we act as if there are areas that are a “gray zone.” 

·      Little, white lies

·       “Prayer requests” that are thinly disguised acts of gossip

·      Dishonest business practices

All things are held under the system of weights that the Lord holds. When we are walking through our day, it would be wise to weigh all things against His precepts. The Holy Spirit is our guide and our counselor, letting us know when something isn’t “measuring up”.

Let’s pray:

Lord quicken our spirits so that we are in direct communication with your weights and balances of truth and righteousness. Help us to pause and redirect when we might go against that which you deem to be right and proper.  Slow us down, in our families and in our business dealings so that all areas of our lives come under Your jurisdiction.

Praying For Our Country

Proverbs 16:10

God’s verdict is on the lips of a king; his mouth should not give an unfair judgment.

In this election year and this time of a tumultuous political arena, how I wish I had confidence that our candidates subscribed to a Holy Obedience to the ordinary! The idea here is that the one in authority is in communion with God. Their decisions, as well as, their treatment of others falls under divine rule.   Matthew Henry sums it up best in his commentary:

            “ It may be read as a precept to the kings and judges of the earth to be wise and instructed. Let them be just, and rule in the fear of God; let them act with such wisdom and conscience that there may appear a holy divination in all they say or do, and that they are guided by principles supernatural: let not their mouths transgress in judgment, for the judgment is God’s.”

            In this political climate with candidates under FBI scrutiny and claims of racism following, and biting, at their heels, I think we can “only” pray. In this season it is ours to trust in the Lord and know that He has a plan for our great nation.  We can pray that His elect finds their way to the Oval Office.  We can also pray that their advisors are God fearing men and women that seek the heartbeat of God.  We can pray that anything that is not of God falls on deaf ears and is foiled before it can take root.

            I and II Kings is riddled with king after king that, either, did evil in the sight of the Lord, or whose ways were pleasing to the Lord. Dare I say it? Our only defense in this day and age is a life of prayer and intercession for our leaders, our congressman, our President, our children’s teachers and Principals, for all of those that hold a place of authority, that their knees are bowed and their hearts are in alignment with the purposes of God.

2 Chronicles 7:14

“If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Lord we turn to You today and we humbly approach the throne with grieving hearts. Righteousness, holiness, purity are all victims of political correctness. We serve politicians that speak out of both sides of their mouth so that they are only offending a Holy God.  Forgive us Lord.  We seek to heal our land, heal our hearts, heal our minds, heal our families, heal our churches, heal our communities through. Your word, Your precepts, through our Holy Obedience to the ordinary.  We pray for our leaders, that their hearts would be inclined towards you and that their ways are pleasing to you.  We pray for their advisors, that Godly men and women would make up their cabinets. We pray that the plots and schemes of the enemy would fall on deaf ears. We pray for protection for our country and all of its leaders.  Amen

What Happened??

⁹ A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps and makes them sure.

How wonderfully and gloriously are we made!!  We have the capabilities to dream, imagine, and plan! I am reminded of the wisdom of Spiderman here, (yes, I have two boys and a husband-so I am well versed in superheroes!!) “With great power comes great responsibility”.   It is true that we have so much power and so much potential.  Our God also released us into free will, so that, all of this power and potential can be used for good or for evil.  How glorious when there is a communion between spirit and mind as we walk out the Lord’s will for our lives!  To cast aside personal gain, success and fortune and to rely on Him to walk us through the path that He ordained for us before there was time, requires active participation with our hearts and our mind.  We need to be in constant communion with our creator to stay in His steps and out of our own.  James reminds us that as we decrease, He increases.  We are looking at the upside down, right side up of Kingdom living, where to live is to die and to die is gain.

Each week we seem to be looking at the issue of faith and trust.  For me the bottom line is this: Do I trust Him enough to let go of all of my expectations and release into the wonder of the uncertainty? That’s a big question, isn’t it?  We can plan our ways, we can dream and imagine, schedule and walk towards our expected end result. I have to remember, that as a woman, I invest in things that I am dreaming into. As I am walking out the imaginings of my heart, I am believing in them and investing in them with my heart and mind.   Let’s face it: it is tough when those dreams are uprooted and we are cast in another direction!  It is hard, when we think we were following the Lord’s promptings and it all "falls apart"!

There have been more than a few times in my life where I have been “redirected”.  In the season I have felt like I was following the Lord’s leading and enjoying the fruit of the season.  There was a time that I was going into the prisons and working with inmates and addicts. I walked with them upon their release and helped them get the help that they needed.  I gained trust and relationship behind bars, so that they would have someone to call when they got out.  I had an email ministry that sent into the state prisons, and my “blue card” so that I could go in jails and prisons to serve.   And then one day…..I wasn’t. Literally, the mission field dried up overnight for me.  For reasons I still don’t understand I was moved on by the Lord.  I still don’t understand!  I have been moved out of churches and I can look back and see God’s wisdom in relocating me, I have been called out of ministries and I see the hand of God opening bigger doors.  It has been 4 years and I still don’t understand the prison ministry being taken.  I may never know this side of glory.  I do trust that something was done in me, through Him, that had to get done before I could walk into my next assignment

Frustrated in the moment, I am now ok with it. I trust in Him and in His plans for my life.  I am willing to sit back and watch His plans unfold around me, a beautiful tapestry.  He does work all things out for good, I can attest to this through my many “relocations” as of late. He has a better plan for me, more than I can fathom or imagine.  I can plan and dream, but I can’t invest so heavily in my dreams, that I squash out the Lord. 

Let’s pray:

Lord help me in my moments of frustration and sadness as you relocate me and my family—from the known into the unknown. Abraham had to start walking, not knowing where he was being called to.  Help us to have that kind of faith, that simply obeys and walks as You have the final say in our plans!

Trust Him on the Journey

⁸ Better is a little with righteousness (uprightness in every area and relation and right standing with God) than great revenues with injustice.

I love the apparent simplicity of the Proverbs, that are weighted with such heavy truths we need to be reminded of them again and again.. The same thought was presented to us in Proverbs 15:5 “Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.”  Why repeat the same thoughts to us?  Because it is a truth that would serve us well, but it is not in our nature’s to truly embrace it.

There are decisions that have to be made at every turn and at every corner.  Will we walk in righteousness and Holy Obedience, though the path is sometimes longer and not easily navigated? The path that the Lord presents can involve long waits and walks through the wilderness, as He prepares our hearts for that which He is calling us to. Sometimes there is a quick path that is presented, and though our spirit does not reconcile with the opportunity, we take it.  In our impatience we can try to make things happen faster and easier.

I know that when God is working, He shows up and amazes.  The path might be long and tedious, fraught with disappointments- but He is preparing us for opportunities and responsibilities. Get there before Him and you won’t be able to occupy what He has laid out for you, because you are not ready.

Trust in Him and in His timing. Trust in the journey and path to your greatest calling on your life. Trust that on this journey He is growing you so that you can occupy the dreams He planted in your heart. Pray and stay in constant communion with God.  Shortcuts rarely pay off in the upside down, right side up world of Kingdom Living.

Let’s pray:

Oh Lord we give you our plans and our schemes and trust You with our dreams.  We trust that You have a path set before us that will yield the greatest harvest in Your Kingdom.  Let it now be about us and personal gain, but about You and making disciples.  Help us to see and hear Your plans for our lives as You bring into existence our dreams, in a way that is more than we could fathom or imagine!  (Ephesians 3:20)

When Our Ways Please The Lord

⁷ When a man’s ways please the Lord, He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.

Matthew Henry, in his commentary, offers this on our little Proverb for today:

            “God can turn foes into friends when he pleases. He that has all hearts in his hand has access to men’s spirits and power over them, working insensibly, but irresistibly upon them, can make a man’s enemies to be at peace with him, can change their minds, or force them into a feigned submission. He can slay all enemies, and bring those together that were at the greatest distance from each other.”

Our human nature seems to focus on the outcome, that even our enemies will be at peace with us.  I start to see how nice that would be, that those who have staked themselves against us, would be at peace with us. Relationships can be so difficult, my heart longs for peace on all fronts. I look at this Proverb with hopeful anticipation, that peace can reign no matter the circumstances.

My human nature inquires, “Yes, but what is the catch?  How does this happen?”  The answer is not found in the heart of our enemy, but in our very own heart.   “When a man’s ways please the Lord”, this means that we act with charity and mercy towards our enemies.  We offer the fruits of the Spirit, in abundance. We pray for them and we turn the other cheek.  We don’t repay unkindness with unkindness.  In the upside down, right side up of Kingdom living, we repay their unkindness with love.   In this fame, through the mindset of Christ, our enemies will be at peace with us.

You may be in a situation where you are not in contact with your enemies, or it is unsafe for you to be near them.  I would still offer that our heart still holds the key.  By releasing them, we release ourselves from the chains of bondage.  By allowing Christ into the circumstances, we alter the dimensions of the situation through love.  Moment by moment, day by day, we are released from captivity as we pray for those that have hurt us.

Let’s pray:

Lord thank you for the wisdom that is found in this book.  Thank you for the revelation today that all paths of healing start within me, and aligning myself with You. Help us do this, most impossible, thing.  Help us to act in ways that please you, towards our enemies.  We open up to the possibility of forgiveness and grace, as we release the need to be right and the need for validation and vindication. Lord, we seek to grow more and more into the likeness of You, help us today as we release our enemies from our hearts, into Your grace. Amen