Proverbial Wisdom – 3:1-6

My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Proverbs 3:1-6 (KJV)

Dear Friends, I apologize for the tardiness of this week’s lesson. This has been a difficult week for me. First, I had a toothache and as a result, I found myself sitting in a dentist chair. Then Thursday, September 22, was the anniversary of my first husband’s death.

It has been eight years since my husband’s death, but it was such a life-changing event that I will never forget the details of that horrible day. Although I will never forget my husband, I did learn how to adjust to the change, continue forward with my life, and wait patiently upon God. I am still waiting to discover all the wonderful plans that God has in store for my future.

God has a good plan for all of His children. He sees into our hearts—He sees our strengths and He sees our weaknesses. The astounding part is that God loves us in spite of all of our weaknesses!

Life-changing events can transform our weaknesses into strengths. When we are suddenly plunged into the angry waves of despair, from a sickness or death of a loved one or maybe even from our own sickness, we may flounder around for a bit, barely keeping our heads above water. However, while we are floundering in despair, we gently hear God calling, “Hang on My child. Hold tight to My hand and I will lead you out.”

After floundering for a bit, I hope that we wise up, reach out, and take hold of God’s outstretched hand. I know I had to.

There was no way that I could make it through the valley of death without God. I surrendered myself to God, I rehearsed His Word (Bible) in my mind, and I held tight to my faith in Him. God did not disappoint me.

God was my strength while I underwent a painful transformation process. Through my faith in Him, I survived my walk through the valley of death. It was in that valley of death that some of my weaknesses were transformed into my strengths. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me” (Psalms 23:4).

Unfortunately, many times we have to undergo painful trials before we willingly surrender ourselves to God’s transforming hand. It is in the midst of those trials that we finally begin to understand and appreciate God’s faithfulness.   

All of us will go through life-changing events at some point in time. Some of those events will be good and some of those events will be bad. Nevertheless, by faith we can victoriously endure all life-changing events IF we depend on God. God is working on our behalf to transform us into pure, strong, holy vessels. “The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives” (Psalms 37:23, NLT).

If you are personally going through a life-changing event, perhaps God is birthing a new ministry within you. God may be transforming some of your weaknesses into strengths so He can use you to help His children. Therefore, while you are going through the transformation process, do not become overwhelmed. Instead, look at the process as an exercise in your faith. By faith, you know that God is right there beside you, lovingly planning every detail of your transformation.

But while you are being transformed, make sure that you follow ALL of God’s commands. God’s Word promises that if you remember His laws and obey His commands, you will have length added to your days and peace added to your life (verses 1 and 2). But you can’t stop there!

Your outward behavior must reflect God’s mercy and God’s truth (verse 3 – “bind them about thy neck”). The only way that you can outwardly reflect mercy and truth, is to have these same principles written internally within your heart (“write them upon the table of thine heart”). Therefore, let mercy and truth rule your days, both in your heart and in your behavior. When you do this, you will find favor and understanding in the sight of God (verse 4).

Finding favor with God is my goal. More than anything, I want to hear God say, “Well done My good and faithful child.”

In this life, you will go through many spiritual battles. You may not see your attacker and you may not understand your attacker’s strategy. However, you can still be victorious when you learn to trust in God, lean on Him, and acknowledge Him as your sole source of strength. God will protect you through the battles and after they are complete, you will have been transformed.

…Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God your primary concern. So don't worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today's trouble is enough for today.

Matthew 6:32-34 (NLT)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  Life-changing events can be the beginning of a spiritual transformation.

2.  God will sustain you through all life-changing events.

3.  God knows what you need and He will provide all that you need.

A Godly Legacy

The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools.

Proverbs 3:35 (New King James)

Have any of you ever watched a movie that showed a large family squeezing into a teeny-tiny attorney’s office? Every member of the family anxiously awaited the reading of the Last Will and Testament. Breathless with anticipation, they all sat on the edge of their seats—their imaginations running wild.

You saw greed in their eyes as they rehearsed in their minds what they were going to say once they verified that their father had left them his entire estate. At that moment, they forgot all about their father’s final three years of suffering, as his diseased body slowly shriveled away. Now they were interested in only one thing….what did he leave them, what did they inherit?

The Will was read and pandemonium broke out.

Charlie, the oldest son of the deceased, thought that he deserved the largest inheritance so he began yelling at Susie, the youngest daughter of the deceased. Sandra, the widow and mother of both Charlie and Susie, began sobbing. And then Shawn, the oldest grandchild, began cursing. In the middle of all the commotion, the attorney kept saying, “Let’s calm down.”

These scenes are comical and they make us laugh; however, at the same time, they are sad. They illustrate the sinful greed that flows throughout our society.

Although the movie might have been fictional, I am sad to tell you that those types of reactions do happen. As a retired accountant, I have witnessed families being were torn apart because of worldly greed. Someone always thinks that he or she deserves more. That is because this world worships money.

All we think about is money, money, and more money, which in turn, leads to greed, greed, and more greed. “How can I accumulate more? I can never have enough! I’ve got to leave a large inheritance.”

Be warned! You can keep accumulating things and keep building barns to hold all of your possessions; but if you do, eventually you will become a servant to your money and to your possessions (Luke 12:15-21).

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (Matthew 6:24, NLT).

When people leave legacies of sin, those legacies begin to take root, and as a weed chokes out a flower, a sinful legacy chokes out life. Let’s confirm this through the Bible.

First we have Adam. Through his sin, Adam left a legacy of death (Romans 5:14). That’s not a very good legacy if you ask me!

Next, let’s look at King Saul. He, too, left a legacy of death to his son, Jonathan (1 Samuel 28:19, 31:2).  Then do you remember King David’s legacy to his child that he fathered with Bathsheba? That legacy was also death (2 Samuel 12:18). David’s son Amnon…death (2 Samuel 13:28). David’s son Absalom…death (2 Samuel 18:14). Death…death…death, sin leaves a legacy of death.

“Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:19-21, KJV).

Change your priorities. Do not strive to accumulate massive wealth to leave as a legacy. Instead, leave another type of legacy—one that will not rot, rust, or disappear.  Leave your children a legacy of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.

I am not sure if you recognized those qualities that were listed above, but those qualities are the fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have your family remember this about you, “Dear old dad, he didn’t accumulate a lot of money, but he sure did love the Lord.”  That is a legacy of great worth.  

God is a perfect Father who gives us a legacy of great worth. He gives us love.

Through His Son (Jesus), God gives us an eternal legacy of life. Then His Son, Jesus the Messiah, bequeaths to us another legacy of life—salvation and the Holy Spirit. Praise God for these precious legacies!

Accept your inheritance of life through God’s Holy Spirit. Allow Him to mold and remake you into God’s image. When you do that, then you can pass on a legacy of life to your children. You can teach them through your words and actions what it means to live and walk by the Spirit of God.

Wouldn’t you love to leave a godly legacy to your family?

A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

Proverbs 25:11 (KJV)

Three Key Concepts:

1.  A legacy of sin brings death.

2   God, through His Son, gives us a legacy of life.

3.  With help from God’s Spirit, you can leave a godly legacy.