My People

My People
My matched set of grandchildren - Oliver and Cosette

Friday, January 30, 2009

Proverbs 30

As I've mentioned before, I typically read a chapter of Proverbs every day, the day that corresponds with that day of the month. Therefore today my reading is in Proverbs 30.

The cool thing about revisting the same chapters of the Bible each month is that it gives me real life application to this verse:
For the Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Hebrews 4:12

There are times that I read the Bible and shout, "AMEN!" Preach it, brother. Tell the truth! Hallelujah! I can see the speck in my friend's eye.
And there are other times that I read the Bible and whisper, hoping no one is around to hear, "oh, me". Knowing that THAT verse was meant to show me the plank in my own eye.
Every trip through Proverbs reveals something special that I needed to hear that day. Every trip through Proverbs gives me a better glimpse of who God is. That's my goal, by the way, to know Him and to understand Him.

Think about it... when you meet that "special someone"... you want to know everything you can about them! You'll google their name... check out the website of their employer... you'll spend hours on the phone giggling and blushing about silly things like, "do you like your eggs scrambled or fried?" And if you're like me... on a lifelong quest for that special someone, you have the opportunity to find out a lot of info on a lot of people.

I want my passion for Christ to be a hotter flame than what has ever burned in my heart for any mortal man. I want to WANT to know Him better. Some days I wake up singing and shouting and praising God... some days I wake up sorta... ick. But every day I wake up and read Proverbs to see what new things I can learn about His character and His expectations of me.

The passage that spoke to me today was this:

21 "Under three things the earth trembles, under four it cannot bear up:
22 a servant who becomes king, a fool who is full of food,
23 an unloved woman who is married, and a maidservant who displaces her mistress.

The 30th Chapter of Proverbs has several of these little word riddles. I like this passage because in a way, it validates my feelings on my marriage. "an unloved woman who is married" causes the earth to tremble... the earth cannot bear up under this... if you read it all in context, it's describing things that are contrary to the natural order and expectation of things. I know that I was not wrong, needy, insecure, desperate... any of those things. It is normal for a married woman to expect to be loved. How many women of my generation and the generation before me have suffered depression for the simple reason that their husbands did not love them? The love of a husband for his wife is ordained of God. It's supposed to be. It's a valid expectation. And when it doesn't happen as it should... the earth trembles.

God is good. It has been 19 weeks now. For all that time God has met every single need we've had... from a place to live, a bed to sleep in, a job, a car that runs, food, internet *smile* (I know that's not a necessity but it does make my life more enjoyable!). I'm happy and safe and I don't have to feel the pain of rejection every day as I did when I lived with him.

Must dash and glam! Have a beautiful Friday! *hugs*

6 comments:

Estela said...

Those are some strong words that stuck with you today. I love that you can wrap yourself up in that and know that you were right to expect, and for the world to expect that you should be loved in your intimate relationships. :) Have a great Friday.

slj said...

Yes, God is good. We just have to learn to be still and "listen".
Have a wonderful Friday.
Sheri

Sheryl said...

Loved this post. I want to want to know HIM better also. And those are some of my favorite verses in Proverbs. Thanks for sharing.

Tina of Moon Shine said...

I think you will realize how much you have healed when you stop tracking how many weeks ago "it" happened. I am not saying to stop tracking, I am saying that at some point, your life will be so full, and you will have traveled so far, that you will not need to keep track of how long it has been.
hugs
tina

LYN said...

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND...

author@ptgbook.org said...

I think there is an advantage to coming back to the same chapter every month. Each time you read it, you will probably gain a little more insight than you did before. It is a good way to study the Bible.

Some people read the Bible for general interest but do not really believe it is the word of God. I have proved to my satisfaction that it is God's word, and I trust God to tell me the truth in it.

I believe it is important to read the Bible with an attitude of being willing to believe what God says even when it seems strange or different from what we believed before, or different from the traditions we were raised it. As I point out in my blog, we need God's help to understand the Bible correctly, and God helps those who are willing to believe Him and strive to do what He says. Sometimes God tests us on this. He may reveal a point of surprising truth in the Bible that is different from what I believed before. If I believe God more than my traditions, then God can reveal more truth to me, one point at a time, by helping me understand the Bible. But if at some point I stop believing God and start interpreting the Bible to fit my own traditions and beliefs, then I think God would stop helping me and my understanding of the Bible would stop.