A life of balance & purpose!

Proverbs 3

Proverbs 3 and Luke 2 comments

Ok, so I am totally enjoying this personal devotional time.  You can never go wrong reading & praying about Proverbs.  Luke on the other hand is an in-depth view written by Dr. Luke that gives lots of details and makes lots of statements that I have to pause on and wonder why that thought was left in history for us.  I say all that to say that my postings on Luke may be slimmer in the beginning as it requires more time devoted to dissecting the real ‘meat’ of it all to gain significant understanding & enlightenment.

Proverbs 3 was just stuffed with life enriching wisdom…it should be, right…It’s Proverbs?  LOL  Ok so, to begin, the chapter let’s you know that remaining loyal and showing kindness will not only please God but turn the hearts of humans.  It makes sense though if I practice doing good to others in need (big or small) then people will remember me as a person who is loyal to my convictions and store me mentally as a person who has their back.  We all need people like that, right?  Verse 5 & 6 are vital to finding & maintaining mental peace while we live in this world, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding.  Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your path.”  Seriously, I pray about everything or at least I try to…when I go to get my hair done, when I’m planning vacation, when I need to know what is important for the day, and so on and so forth.  This really helps me to feel secure in my decision making because I know that with the Holy Spirit dwelling in me  then I will follow its lead and when things don’t turn out like I expected well, I can trust that I am still protected and that God knows best.  Verse 7 in paraphrase:  Don’t have the big head.  I made you!  Boast only in me (The Lord).  Verse 9-The subject of money is always a touchy subject so here it is in paraphrase, real brief:  Give God (the church) your first which is your best and then pay your bills and then give to the poor, needy and sick.  You will be blessed in ways that you could not conceive; you will be protected from things that you don’t know are coming.   Remember that old school acronym: J.O.Y. Jesus, Others, Yourself!   Verse 11-when you do wrong (outward display or inward heart sins); you get punished. ..Just like a parent does a child.  Discipline helps us to grow.  It’s painful, challenging and sometimes long but the other side of a well trained person is excellence. Verse 21-speaks again about the importance of good planning, I can’t stress it enough.  Planning makes for a smoother ride in every area of life.  Seriously, I can’t control all aspects of my toddler’s behavior but my ‘schedule’ makes for controlled chaos and I can deal with that!  I believe in setting goals, planning and asking God (sharing my heart with Him).  Like Joyce Meyers say’s, “I rather have 10% of something good instead of 0% of nothing “(I think I said that right)!

In His Power,

Kisha G.

Selflessness

My life is not my own (Jeremiah 10:23).  I might get this tattooed on my arm.  I know it’s the way to live and I have to choose to embrace it daily.  When I look at the life of Jesus He shows me exactly how to do it and He did it with excellence.  Seriously, if we should be trying to keep up with anybody or be envious of anyone it should be Jesus.  I mean really even when He was at a party, He had to stop his fun and perform a miracle just to keep the party going!

 

Let me not pretend like this is easy though, it’s not.  It is especially challenging considering I live smack dab in a culture that is self-consumed, self-indulged and just downright selfish.  I mean for the first 24 years of my life I lived like the culture more than like a “true” follower of Jesus.  On Saturday, I was at the bar or the club and Sunday I was in church singing Holy, Holy, Holy.  My list goes on but I’ll spare ya’ll the details.  When my mind was truly transformed I just wanted to do better.  I didn’t have to change but I wanted my life to be a living example of Christ not culture.  I purposefully work to stay humble because I know that no one sin is greater than the next; my former days of drunkenness are no better than my occasional going 45 mph in the 40 mph zone!  My spirit keeps me conscious of the little speck that can try to form in my eye!

 

Going against the grind is not easy all the time but things of substance never come easy, right?  But the rewards are always great.  My 17 hours of labor that led to a c-section was all worth it to get my sweet Nadia to our world.  Some days I allow the enemy’s arrows marked selfishness to pierce my thoughts and yes, for a moment I entertain them but it always produces an angry & bitter me.

 

So I plead with you all to seek not only to get but to give.  Give when it doesn’t seem right, give when it doesn’t feel like the right time, give when you want be stingy, give when you are scared, give…well, hopefully you get my point!  It will come back to you in immeasurable blessings in this life and our ‘real’ life to come!

 

In every season there is a reason.  Find it, embrace it, and flourish.