Day 5 of 21 Day Challenge

What an amazing devotional time I had this morning! I spent almost an hour today between reading the two chapters in my Bible, writing in my journal, and praying. I had a few different verses that stuck out at me in Proverbs and it was really cool how God tied them all together. Our God is an awesome God! I'm so thankful for His faithfulness in showing me at least one new thing every day during my devotional time in this 21 Day Challenge.

John 5:44 says, "How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?" It feels good when someone praises you or gives you a compliment, doesn't it? I sing on the worship team at our church and I love to hear people say we sang well or they really enjoyed the music. I like to hear people tell me I look nice. It makes me feel good or loved when I get those kinds of compliments, but I should not be craving the praise of other people. What I should be striving for is praise from God. Isn't it amazing to think that the almighty God could give you praise?! I long for the day to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Everything we do should be striving toward that goal.

As I mentioned earlier, I got a lot out of my reading of Proverbs 14 today! The very first verse was the first one to jump out at me. Verse 1 says, "The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish ones tears hers down." This made me start thinking again about my words. Are my words building others up? Are they loving, encouraging, and wise? Or are my words angry, hurtful, and demeaning? If my words are negative, they are tearing down the person I am speaking to. I don't want my words to tear down anyone, especially those in my family. I need to make sure that my words are always said in love and are helpful in building up those I love.

In verse 8a, I read "The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways" and in verse 15 it says, "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." When I think first before I speak or do something, I am being wise. I'm sure how you can see how this goes along with what I read in verse one. If I think before I speak, then I wouldn't allow myself to say words that tear someone down. If I think before I act, I wouldn't do things that could be hurtful to myself or to others. I need to choose to be wise (prudent) and think before I speak or act.

Verses 26 and 27 says "He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death." Did verse 27 sound familiar to you? It does if you read my blog yesterday! That verse is very similar to Proverbs 13:14, which I talked about yesterday. Again, these verses got me to thinking about how I say things and the way I react. I want my kids to feel that their home is a refuge. I want them to always feel loved, accepted, and safe. I want them to know that no matter what happens, their parents will always love them. I want them to know they can come to us and get Godly advice, not criticism. My kids are still young and at home, and it hurts me to know that I'm not very good at this yet. Thankfully, I'm working on it and I'm confident that God will continue to help me so that I can become the mom I want to be and should be.

Finally, verse 30 says "A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones." What a wonderful way to wrap up the verses that really stuck out to me. It summarized them all beautifully! If I am making sure that everything I say builds others up and does not tears them down, I will be at peace knowing that I didn't say anything that was hurtful. If I am being wise and always think before I say or do something, I can be at peace knowing that my actions probably won't have negative consequences. If our home is a fortress and refuge, where my kids feel loved and safe and know that they can come to us with anything, then I can be at peace knowing that my kids have a place to come to for Godly advice whenever they need it. If my kids see Jesus in us and accept Him as their own personally Lord and Savior, I can be at peace knowing that they have been saved from the snares of death and won't spend eternity in Hell. If I don't envy what others have and am content with what I do have, I can be at peace knowing that God has given me all I need and He will continue to provide what we need when we need it. When I am at peace, I will be happier and healthier than if I am filled with envy or worry. Worrying causes all sorts of health problems, so why worry? God will bless us with everything we need if we just put our faith in Him and do our best to live the way He wants us to. When we live according to His laws, we will obtain His praise us and He will say to us, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!" Yes, all these verses in Proverbs went together, and then it led me right back to that verse in John I focused on. I told you God is awesome!