3: Commit your works unto the LORD, and your thoughts shall be established.

Our thoughts and what we dwell on will determine the things we act on. BUT, God tells us that when we commit our works to Him, our thoughts will be established. This ‘committing’ is far more than asking the LORD to bless what we’ve already done. That is merely tagging the LORD onto something after the fact. But what would happen if we committed ourselves, and our plans, (our “works”) to Him before, during, and after? Well, we don’t have to wonder, He tells us plainly: Our thoughts shall be established. I looked up the definition to find out specifically what this common word means, and it is wonderful. Settled securely and unconditionally; holding a firm position. If our works are committed to the LORD and our thoughts then become settled securely, and are held firmly…then wouldn’t it be so much easier to continue to act and serve and walk committed to Him… because we have an unconditional way of thinking that is set? This is a verse that is packed full of wisdom for us.

18: Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

  Let’s define ‘haughty’. It is: arrogance; conveying a demeanor of superiority; pride in oneself and scornful of others. Basically, pride is a sin that causes us to elevate ourselves above all others…even God Almighty. God hates pride; it keeps us from allowing Him to use us for His purposes and renders us useless for His kingdom . When we commit ourselves to doing things our own way, we are in NO position to do things God’s way (nor do we even desire to). When we give into it, and allow it in our lives, something devastating occurs. We develop the mindset that God exists for us, rather than what is true: that we exist for God. There is absolutely nothing good that we can accomplish apart from God; there is absolutely nothing that we have earned, own, or have achieved that is not directly tied to the goodness of God who is our Provider. We must guard ourselves against ever thinking that God’s glory can be shared. It is only His. You don’t deserve it, and I don’t deserve it. All together, all the people of all time put together don’t deserve even a particle of it. 

19: Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. Because of what God tells us about pride in the verse prior, we can certainly understand the truth of this verse.

For Today: I am amazed at how when I first read through the verses of Proverbs, I don’t ‘see’ how one really correlates with another. But as I really ‘look’ into the word, things intertwine in a way that can never be understood with only a casual glance. God’s Word deserves a concentrated gaze…and then suddenly it all connects. Therefore I’d like to leave off today with verse 32. Can YOU see how the three verses presented completely relate to one another?

God is amazing, and it is amazing that He would reveal so much to those…..who really want to KNOW HIM.

He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that rules his spirit than he that takes a city.