Prescribing Proverbs – RX Ten – August 10th

PRESCRIBING PROVERBS
August 10th, 2021

A Proverb a day keeps Untruth away

Proverbs 1:1-6, ‘These are the wise sayings of Solomon, David’s son, Israel’s king—written down so we’ll know how to live well and right, to understand what life means and where it’s going; a manual for living, for learning what’s right and just and fair; to teach the inexperienced the ropes and give our young people a grasp on reality. There’s something here also for seasoned men and women, still a thing or two for the experienced to learn—fresh wisdom to probe and penetrate, the rhymes and reasons of wise men and women.’ (MSG)

Prescription (RX) Ten: a Rich Life

Proverbs 10:22, ‘God’s blessing makes life rich; nothing we do can improve on God.’ (MSG)

I kept on returning to this verse while reading today’s Proverb. So I began thinking about it, like really in depth. There is truly not a thing that I or anyone I know or know of could do to improve on God. We all have tried, right? Since the beginning of time, in too many ways to count one or another has attempted to one-up God. But it has never happened, nor will it. Ever.
Remember, in the Garden of Evil, that sneaky snake, crawling on his belly in the dirt, tried to thwart God’s plan, and for a while, it might have seemed he succeeded. But as sin has fallen down through the cracks in time like sand, too much to number, so has God’s great love for His children. It is evident in everything we see and hear: from the beauty of a sunrise to the crashing of the waves, the setting of the sun for another day upon a snow-covered field to the song of a bird as he lights on a branch from a flight, the daybreak over an empty cross on a hill far away to the gurgle of a newborn baby as he nestles at his mother’s breast. He thought of it all, every detail He put in place.
Even Eve wished to improve on God and tried her tastebuds out by eating fruit from a tree that grew knowledge. Adam did so as well by sewing clothing out of fig leaves and grass for thread because, surely, God hadn’t intended mankind to run naked. Abraham wanted to improve on God’s promise by hurrying up the process by which he could have a son, and yet out of his hastening, God kept His promise, and many nations were born. The entire adventure of Joseph’s life at the hands of his family was about upending God’s plan, and yet what Satan intended for evil, God put into place, His Improvement Plan, and restored all the years eaten by folly. Jonah thought he could outrun God’s love, but not so, and he had to spend time in the belly of a whale separated from God so he could long for His presence. David’s pursuit of God shifted to that of a beautiful woman, and although His sin wrought pain in his life instead of improvement, God still considered David a man after His own heart.
Through the ill-gotten gains man has continually tried to achieve, the only revision that has worked has been the gift of God’s Son to mankind, which was God’s Improvement Plan to begin with! His rescue mission to redeem all the folly and foolishness, evil and lunacy. Even the disciples who walked with Jesus day in and day out—ate with Him, fished with Him, slept on Him, cried with Him, guarded Him, prayed with Him, broke bread with Him, sold Him out, stuck their hands in His wounds, cried over Him, covered their eyes as He ascended to His Father—even these men were no match to making improvements on God, insomuch as they thought they knew better.
We read back through the Bible, however, and every mistake man has ever made, God has covered. He has fixed it every time. (Proverbs 10:12, ‘Hatred stirs up strife. But lover lovers all sin.’ NKJV) Even in His demonstrations where nothing could be done but to wipe out entire generations, complete countries, He was still fixing things for you and me. (1 Peter 4:8, ‘Above all, constantly echo God’s intense love for one another, for love will be a canopy over a multitude of sins.’ TPT) His blessing is so thick, it is rich; it is so rich, it is inherent. We can possess all knowledge and outthink ourselves, devise schemes and develop a plethora of manmade vices far beyond those of any other generation so far, but, in the end, there is only one God Who will still be on the throne and in control. He is my God and there is no improvement needed, necessary or even attainable…so why don’t we quit trying??!!

I encourage you to do your own study of Proverbs as well as follow along with me! How it works: take a Proverb a day (there are 31, so perfect for the month of August) and read the chapter that corresponds with the day. Then stop on a verse that grips your attention. Focus on the verse(s) for the day as it is highly possible the Holy Spirit is speaking to you through what He helped you unearth. It’s almost like a Treasure Hunt! I will share with you this month Golden Nuggets the Holy Spirit leads me to, and I would love to have you share with me what He reveals to you in your mining excavation also!