So I've just finished the 21st chapter of Proverbs and it is continuing to be very very good. Chapter 16 is now highlighted, underlined, and boxed in. It's probably one of my favorites. The chapters are still very much focusing on wisdom. It hinges around counsel and the Lord guiding your steps. In chapter 20 one of the verses that stuck out the most was verse 24. "A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?" Isn't funny how often that we try to figure out our futures? Not even really funny, more foolish and sad. College is a super rough time for that too, I feel like. Everything you do in these four years is supposedly what is going to shape your future. Its so hard not too keep looking ahead and trying to figure out your life. And yet, our lives and the steps we take are from God, not from ourselves. "Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand."-Proverbs 19:21 "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. All the ways of man are pure in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the spirit. Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established." -Proverbs 16:1-3 "The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps." -Proverbs 16:9. These are just glimpses of verses I've read this week. There are so many more in the entire book. I'm pretty sure he's trying to say that we can plan all we want, but God's got the final say. I think it is so easy for us to try to understand our future, to sort it out and break it down, but even though we make plans, they are our plans, not his. Maybe that is why so many feel so much dissappointment and frustration towards God, we think our plans are the correct way and then he shows us something else. What we thought was for sure or promised changes and we feel like the rug got ripped out from under us. In reality God never promises us that we'll know our understand his plans, in fact just the opposite, he "...how then can he understand his way?" - Vs 20:24. Pretty sure that is a rhetorical question. We can't. So why do we keep trying? How bout we seek to understand the things he does allow us to see and know?
I think realizing that we are not sovereign is like a sucker punch to our pride. Even though we never say, "I know it all" our hearts and actions speak for us. When reality sets in it can really cut you down at the knees. I know. I've been being repeatedly humbled again and again because of my foolish confidence. I keep thinking about the song Sweetly Broken by Jeremy Riddle. If you've ever really thought about it, sweet and broken are not really two words that you'd put together very often. Typically when I think of broken I think of pain and being brought low. Not really a sweet experience. I read a verse yesterday that kind of puts it into perspective, though. "Blows that wound cleanse away evil; strokes make clean the innermost parts." -Proverbs 20:30. Obviously it is not talking about physical blows. You can't get someone to dock you to cleanse you of evil. It takes spiritual blows. Those sucker punches to our pride and our self-confidence are the things that cleanse us. That's the sweet part of being broken, even though it is painful and difficult at points, it is the pruning that allows us to grow up. Honestly it is God's grace that allows us to be brought so low. It may seem harsh but he's wooing us to something better, to himself. Whatever it was, sin, pride, money, future plans, ect, absolutely cannot ever hold a candle to him. Surrender is so difficult, and when our pride gets in the way it becomes even more difficult, but he allows the pain to set in so that we can put him back on the throne of our lives. It's like the helm of a boat, he's captain and we're merely a passenger. We like to take over when it's smooth sailing, it seems easy enough, so why not? We push the captain aside and try to steer our own way, we think we know how to get to our destination, we even turn down a compass in our arrogance. Even though he's the captain and has the authority to take back the helm he wants it given back. So he allows the storms to come. It's not until the storms that we recognize that we absolutely do not have control. We just cannot run the ship safetly, we have no knowledge and not the slightest idea where we are actually going. In order for us to not capsize ourselves we hand back over the helm. If the weather had just stayed fair we would have taken it as some merit of our own that the sailing was smooth.
That was probably a cheesey/cliche illustration but that's the best way I put it in my mind. Anyway, that's just been a lot of what I've been reading lately. I finished my communications class!!! I'll let you know what I got soon. I did a persusive speech on the relevance of marriage still in today's society and so we'll see if I defended it well at all. I've gotten really good grades on all my speeches and presentations so far. I'm glad I'm half-way decent at talking in front of a class, considering that is what I want to do with my life (God-willing). So that has been encouraging. Two more weeks of Bio!! Ahh I'm so ready to be done and have a couple week break before starting school school. Please pray for me and my test this week, it is a very crucial one, and I can use all the support I can get!
I love you all very much! Thank you for reading, you all are an encouragement to me. I hope you have a beautiful rest-of-Monday day. :)
Proverbs 17:24
-Kelly
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