Today, it is Day 8 of the Proverbs Challenge, and therefore, we are going to spend time with the Lord, reading Proverbs 8
The verse that stuck out for me was:
“All who fear the Lord will hate evil. Therefore, I hate pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech.”
Proverbs 8:13
My thoughts: I remember reading ”to fear the LORD” years ago, and I was confused around this because this made me think that the Bible had contradicted itself. Yet, I have learnt that there are no contradictions with God’s Word, and that it was always about myself needing an understanding, or a deeper revelation to what God was saying in Scripture
So, therefore, for me, it was a lightbulb moment when God spoke to show that it wasn’t about ”fearing” a loving God (as that still makes no sense!) It was also not about fearing God, Himself, as in scared to be near Him. It’s actually the opposite, in that we listen intently to Him because then He remains near us
In other words, God is Holy and hates sin, so to remain in God’s presence, it’s about ourselves hating what God hates
My reflection: Proverbs 8:13 reminds me that our thoughts need to become like His, in order to make better choices, and over time, become more like Jesus
So many Scriptures come to mind (which I guess is why we read the Bible) but by renewing our minds towards God’s (Romans 12:2) it allows us to take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5) because what we think about, is ultimately what we become (Proverbs 23:7) – this is why, if God is love (1 John 4:8) then He has to hate evil, and therefore, if we love God, and love others (Mark 12:30-31) the way Jesus shows us, then we too must hate evil
But, the exciting thing in Proverbs 8:13 is that God directly targets the things He hates (pride and arrogance, corruption and perverse speech) which means that we have clear guidelines of what we need to pray for, so that we will then be directed by the Holy Spirit, day-by-day, to overcome any of these things evident in our lives
I know the power of prayer because there was a time that pride, arrogance, and perverse speech was something that I thought made me strong, and yet, it was a weakness, because my whole life was always about me. However, now, I have found a richness in life simply because I understand this life is always about Jesus (Colossians 1:16)
What has God revealed, to you, in Proverbs 8?
Categories: Proverbs Challenge
