It would be foolish if we took today’s text from Proverbs and believed that great wealth and prosperity will be ours if only we do exactly what Solomon counsels us to do. Sadly, we normally only ever think in the temporal and thus limit God’s blessing to the here and now and only in ways we seem to think that He can best bless us. I am talking about blessing in wealth and materialism. Yet upon examining the text for today, it is certainly possible that God will bless us abundantly in these limited areas. But God also desires to bless us in other areas that we may not deem as significant and important. Character building in His children is high on the list of God as continues moulding our lives.
I guess we all have questions when we witness someone who is humble; who fears the Lord; who pursues righteousness; who gives generously and who welcomes discipline; go through times of difficulty like sickness, loss of job, broken relationships and financial hardships. Are they all hypocrites? The answer is no! Let us never forget that God is seeking to refine us and prepare us for an eternity with Him. We will be His servants in glory and this will be our joy! Training and preparation for this begins here on earth. God will do many things in this preparation stage and through this preparation He will bring glory to Himself!
Let us never forget Job. He was a man who was blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil. Yet he suffered appallingly. Many of his friends ridiculed him and misquoted Scripture time and time again. There are many reasons why God allows His children to undergo suffering and persecution. Sometimes they fail to fear the Lord. Sometimes they fail to turn their backs on sin. Sometimes they contract a disease and die despite being godly and honoring to God. God delights in disciplining His children. He has their life in His hands. God’s purposes are always higher than what we can imagine – Job teaches us this!
Let us, therefore, carefully think through these amazing verses in Proverbs using godly wisdom and understanding that comes from the power of the Holy Spirit!