Sunday mornings on J93.3, they play podcasts from Ravi Zaccharias. It just so happens that they come on while I'm driving to church, and I always enjoy them. A while back, I heard him tell this story. I'm retelling it from memory, so it probably doesn't do it justice, but bear with me.
A young man went to visit his pastor. As they were visiting, the young man stated that there was no point in him continuing to study the Bible. He couldn't remember the scriptures and couldn't memorize them, so why even bother? The pastor didn't even seem to acknowledge the comment, but instead picked up a woven basket and asked the young man to fill it with water from the tap. The young man thought that his pastor must be losing his mind. "You can't fill that, it won't hold water!" the young man replied. The pastor kept insisting, and the young man continued to protest until finally he thought, "I'll just go try. Then I can show him it won't hold water." So, he went to the kitchen and tried to fill the woven basket with water. As expected, it all ran straight through. After a little while, the young man brought the basket back to the pastor and said, "See. I told you it wouldn't hold water." The pastor responded, "Yes. But isn't it cleaner?"
I feel a lot like the young man in that story as I read Proverbs, especially at the pace we are. There is entirely too much for me to process in each chapter, and all I can hope for sometimes is that as all those wise sayings pass through my brain and heart that God uses them to clean me. And, maybe a few will stick!
Proverbs, and really all of God's word, has that power to cleanse us. Over and over again as we read these chapters we see that God gives us statements that counter so much of what we are fed daily by the world. From what we value, people or possessions, integrity or wealth, patience and diligence or ambition and greed; to how we live, honestly or selfishly, diligently or lazily; to who we chose as friends; the proverbs show us the true way. They show us how much we don't know, and how much we need God's guidance for our daily lives. Several different verses from today's reading remind us that, if left to our own devices, we will inevitably wander away.
"A man's own folly ruins his life,
yet his heart rages against the Lord."
19:3
"Many are the plans in a man's heart,
but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
19:21
"A man's steps are directed by the Lord.
How then can anyone understand his own way?"
20:24
"All a man's ways seem right to him,
but the Lord weighs the heart."
21:2
We simply cannot grasp on our own, and do not have the perspective to see what God does. I can fracture my brain trying to be so smart, prepared and well...right, and all I end up being is, irritable, tired and more than half the time wrong.
"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan
that can succeed against the Lord."
21:30
My favorite nuggets to discover in Proverbs right now, are the ones that deal with God's sovereignty. I find so much comfort and peace in knowing that it doesn't depend on me. Not only do I not have to be the one to figure out how to do it exactly right, it doesn't even depend on my abilities. I don't have to be wiser than my enemies- I have to trust that God is. I don't have to have perfect insight, because God does. I don't have to have the plan...God has the master one already. And, we do not have a god who stands aloft and superior, knowing what the right way is but leaving us to figure it our for ourselves. Oh no, He willingly shares with us the right way.
"He who pursues righteousness and love
finds life, prosperity and honor."
21:21
"The fear of the Lord leads to life:
Then one rests content, untouched by trouble."
19:23
Pursue righteousness. Pursue love. Fear the Lord. Easy enough? Maybe. The execution is perhaps not quite as simplistic as the proverb. But even if it requires some diligence, work, and flat out picking myself up off my face after I've fallen on it a few times, the rewards are certainly worth it. Life. Prosperity. Honor. Contentment...untouched by trouble. Lord lead me on! I have a feeling my first steps are going to include letting the water of God's word wash over me.
