Devotional of the Week June 7-13

Proverbs 1: 20-33

"Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? And the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: They would none of my counsel: they depised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."

Stern but wise words coming to us from God through the book of Proverbs. God is calling us to listen to His wise counsel, and avoid going down foolish paths that lead to death and destruction. If only we would heed God's instruction, we would save ourselves countless heartaches and hurts. Many times we tempt God by pursuing our foolhardy decisions, and then expect Him to rescue us. As many of us have found out however, God does not always save us from the consequences of our poor choices, but allows us to bear the consequences of our decisions. If God took away the consequences, then there would be no way for us to learn that our decisions were bad ones. As hard as it is to go through trials, sometimes this is the only way some of us will ever learn about the wrong consequences and effects of our decisions on ourselves and others. God is saying, "hearken unto me" and avoid making costly mistakes. "Listen to Me" and rest safely in my care. I should know, because I have experienced the consequences of bad decisions I have made myself. I choose however to look at those experiences as teachable moments. Those experiences have however helped me to grow in wisdom, and helped me to learn how to listen to God.