Righteousness - Proverbs 10

The righteous will never be uprooted (Prov 10:30 NIV)

Life can be messy. But no matter how deplorable or needlessly cruel this world is, or how wonderful life is, your righteousness will shine brightly as you continue to believe that God is present and working redemption in ways that you and I are not equipped to discern. Righteousness is a gracious gift from God that you receive by faith so that you can be restored into a love relationship with Him and be inspired to live a righteous life, for righteousness is the very foundation of God’s essence.

Let your righteousness shine through today as you first answer the question ‘who shall I be in response to God’s actions?’ Then answer the question ‘what shall I do today in light of God’s love for me, God’s character, and my relationship with the Lord?’

Your righteousness is missional, for your actions and words today reflect Gods love, God’s wisdom, God’s holiness and God’s righteousness amongst the people you live and work with. God in his unrelenting love for you, continues to call out to you to live your life in a way that is faithful to God’s story and the way God created the world. So continue today to trust in God, take refuge in God, love his commandments, turn from evil and steer clear of the wicked and their schemes. Seek the peace and prosperity of others, and guard your tongue so that it only speaks truth and wisdom. Live your life today in obedience, in faithfulness and quiet trust in God’s story. Then your righteousness will shine like the dawn.

Wisdom for the Workplace - Proverbs 8

At the place where you work, in the midst of all the noise competing for your hearts attention, God calls out to you offering you his wisdom. This wisdom that God offers you is unique. This world where you live and work is God’s handiwork. As the creator God is the only one who knows exactly how everything is designed. Instead of providing you with an owner’s manual, the creator desires to enter into a personal relationship with you and to share first hand His knowledge of how everything functions. Relying on this wisdom and understanding from God will enable you to do your job with excellence.

God’s wisdom is true, is just and right. God’s wisdom will teach you prudence and discretion. God’s wisdom will provide you with counsel and sound judgment and insight. God’s wisdom will enable you to make just decisions and to lead well. God understands the intricacies of the hearts of those you work with and live with. With God’s wisdom you can love and relate to them in a way that aligns with God’s kingdom purposes.

The wisdom God offers you comes with a promise of a rich blessing. The fruit that God offers you, should you choose to follow his wisdom, is more precious than rubies, is better than fine gold and its yield surpasses choice silver. The day is coming when Christ will redeem the work that you are doing today. If you are going about your work with God’s wisdom, no matter how menial or fascinating the work is, your work when it is refined by fire, in some mysterious way that we cannot explain, will be purified as gold and silver. 

 The work you are doing today has immense value when you constantly rely on God’s Wisdom. The one who created you, who rejoices over you, and who loves you has these words to say to you today … 

“So now, children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. 

Listen to my instruction so that you may be wise, and do not neglect it. 

Blessed is the one who listens to me, watching at my doors day by day, waiting beside my doorway. 

For the one who finds me finds life and receives favor from the Lord.” (Prov 8:33-35 NET)

Trust in the Lord With All Your Heart - Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight (Prov 3:5-6)

Holy Spirit, help me to hear what you are teaching me today in the realities of my life. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Father, thank you for your love and faithfulness toward me. Help me to keep your commands in my heart, and keep my heart from wandering away from you. Fill my heart with love and faithfulness to you and to each person that you bring across my path today. Lord, I have tried leaning on the broken branch of my own understanding, but it doesn’t always work out very well. In this moment I choose to rest and trust in you my rock, my fortress and my deliverer. I don’t know what lies ahead for tomorrow, but I know that you will make my paths straight and that is all that matters. I choose to follow you, and in humble obedience take the next faithful step, so that I can continue to know the unspeakable joy of your presence in my life. 

Father, I have tried trusting my own wisdom but it is unable to bring me to the paths of righteousness. I now know my wisdom is like a speck of dust compared to the vastness of your wisdom that laid the earth’s foundations and set the heavens in place. I believe that your wisdom is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold, and I desire nothing less than knowing your wisdom this moment, right here, right now where I am living and working. Grant me the wisdom to act justly with the people around me, to love mercy and to walk humbly with you through the activities of my day. You have blessed me with so many things, you have given me talents and abilities. Sustain me so that I can lavishly share these blessings with those around me. 

I rejoice that with you at my side hemming me in behind and before, and with your hand upon me that I can go about this day in safety, knowing that my foot will not stumble. May the inner contentment, delight, peace and joy of living in your presence, be evident to all. Thank you that when I go to bed tonight I will have nothing to fear and that my sleep will be sweet. Amen

Finding Wisdom

So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. (2 Cor 4:18)

Our whole body is involved in the search for wisdom. We incline our ears to wisdom, we apply our heart to understanding, our mouth cries after knowledge, we lift our voices up for spiritual intelligence. We relentlessly search for wisdom as we would for priceless treasures. At some point we realize that we are not able to comprehend true wisdom without the Spirit of God. When we stop searching in our own strength and humbly depend in faith on the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth we find Wisdom. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones (Prov 2:6-8).

Through faith our souls are united with the infinite God in a union that transcends all our senses and all knowledge. In this union God manifests himself to our soul with divine light and truths which surpass all understanding. For no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him (1 Cor 2:9 NLT).

To our surprise when we find Wisdom, we also discover that God has transformed our lives. The way we walk, where we walk, and whom we walk with, are all transformed. We find ourselves walking in the ways of the good, and keeping to the paths of the righteous (Prov 2:20). God gives us a new heart. With this new heart, in faith we can wait with loving attentiveness upon God in quietness and rest. For we know that true love and hope are built on that which we cannot see or feel in this life - namely faith in God who is incomprehensible and transcends all things. When we are quiet and still before God, a divine calm and peace infuses our soul, along with the wondrous and sublime knowledge of God enfolding us in his divine love.