I love Proverbs 10. So I used my yellow highlighter to mark verses that I thought were really good. The whole chapter is now yellow. I know these verses can't be applied universally but they are general truths to live by. It is full of contrasts between God's blessings for the righteous and his judgement for the wicked. It makes me so glad that I am on the right side. It also makes me wonder why anyone would choose to be on the wrong side when God has so much more to offer than the world.
For example verse 27 "The fear of the Lord adds length to life but the years of the wicked are cut short." Of course we probably all know someone who loved God and their life was cut short. My niece, Christa, had just recommitted her life to the Lord and she died instantly at age 15 in a car accident. We will never know why her life was cut short. But we do know that her life impacted hundreds of teenagers from Franklin Central who came to funeral. Many have accepted Christ since Christa's death and the example she lived.
My brother committed suicide at age 36. That is also a life cut short. Rick had made a profession of faith at 13 in Christ at age 13. However he made some bad choices in his life which led to alcoholism. Several of my aunts and uncles were also alcoholics. It may not be genetic but I think our family has a predisposition towards alcoohol. That is why we need to very careful in that area. Well even though my brother could have turned to God for help, he didn't. It led to losing job after job. He felt hopeless and ended his life at age 36. Sometimes it makes me angry that TV portrays drinking and partying as the fun life. I wish teens could see people that are homeless drinking out of a brown paper sack. The work glamorizes drinking when in reality it leads to addiction. Well enough about Proverbs I got sad just thinking about my brother. I trust that he is in heaven and just went there earlier than planned because he couldn't deal with life here on earth.
Isaiah 55 makes me think happy thoughts. The first verse says "Come, all you who are thirsty..." Ari says stirfy for thirsty. He also says praise the Lord everytime he sees a cross. It is adorable and I hope he never changes that. It is a proven fact that some beverages do not quench your thirst. There is actually lots of sodium that makes you thirstier. Jesus is the living water. The New Testament says that people who come to Him will never thirst again.
So don't settle for what the world has to offer like carbonated beverages with sodium. Drink water that hydrates your body and satisfies your thirst. In comparison don't think that filling your life with all that the world has to offer will satisfy you and make you happy. It can't fill the void in your heart that only Christ can fill.
Isaiah 55:6 says "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon." Isn't God good!
Love this post Pat.
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