Today is day 1 of the February #iheartBible challenge. Man, I chose a difficult verse for day one! Good luck, all!
Today’s verse is Proverbs 3.7. The verse is below, in its context:
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes;
fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh
and refreshment to your bones.
When I look at this verse and its context, a few things stand out to me. First, I am drawn to the concepts that are mentioned in the context of the verse: trusting the Lord and the healing power thereof. Second: I’m almost offended that I’m encouraged not to be wise according to myself.
I’ve learned that the Bible offends me sometimes. That’s okay. Usually, I’m offended because I am proud. Proud of what I think I’ve done on my own or proud of how awesome I think I am at being good without help from above.
I am prompted to humbly myself and remind myself that I have not arrived. I have not arrived to perfection or universal admiration. The context of this verse brings out that being wise in our own eyes can (and often will) cause us to not fear the Lord. When we don’t fear the Lord, we will become proud and will miss the mark in our lives.
I used to be super confused about what it meant to “fear the Lord.” I mean, I love Him! Why the heck would I be afraid of him.
I was limiting the concept of fear; it wasn’t until I grew up a little that I realized that I can be afraid of what someone will think of me more than I’m afraid of what God will think of me. I can be afraid that a colleague will think I’m a prude if I am consistent in my preference to honor God with my words and media consumption. I can be more afraid that my husband will think I’m crazy if I immerse myself in worship music all day long than I am afraid of distancing myself from God emotionally. I can be more afraid that my family will reject my desire to serve God wholeheartedly than afraid that God will wish me to serve Him more.
Fear isn’t just life or death. Fear is deeper than breath.
So, in consuming this verse and its context I am grateful to be reminded that I’d prefer to be seen as wise in Jesus’ eyes than my own; if I can stick to this type of humility, the verse promises my flesh will be healed and my bones refreshed.
This makes me think of the stress-induced pain and anxiety anyone can experience. I’ve experienced this at work, around family, or when looking at my bank account. Heart palpitations, anxiety attacks, headaches, stress wrinkles–it’s pretty safe to say everyone experiences at least one of these during the course of life.
It can feel impossible to trust the Lord and fear Him more than our situations. But this is why journaling can really help; when Seth and I became engaged, there were so many things that needed to fall into place in order for us to join our lives together and also live in the same place. It seemed like none of it would ever work out. However, God provided renters for my condo, new teaching credentials, a job in central Ohio, and a roomy apartment that was within our new budget even in a more expensive place to live! It didn’t seem like that would work out, but I totally acknowledge that He worked out all the kinks in the path so that we could be husband and wife together. In the same living quarters.
God is Good.
All the time.
Love,
