DAILY READING
REFLECTION
A Heart at Peace
by Beth Voltmann
Today’s reading can be difficult if you try to read the verses as one continuous portion of Scripture. When reading Proverbs, it is beneficial to slow your normal pace and calm your mind in order to soak in the Godly wisdom offered by Solomon (and others).
I find it helpful to read each verse several times, asking the Lord to reveal his Word to me for that day. Here are a few suggestions:
· Make a chart. Note what characteristics identify a person who follows the Lord versus one who does not.
· Underline or highlight the words that God impresses upon you.
· Write the verse by hand on a separate piece of paper.
· Ask God to lead you to other Bible passages that support the wisdom of the proverb.
As I consider our current teaching series, “FREE," today’s first proverb succinctly helps me to understand the result that comes when I entrust to the Lord all that is dear to me—my money, home, family, friends, food, comfort, health, time, etc.
“A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” (Proverbs 14:30)
Lesson:
- Trusting the Lord from a heart of peace brings LIFE.
- Envying what others have or do causes ROT.
Additional Scripture:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. Do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (John 14:27)
Each new day, God’s Word instructs me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus for a heart of peace that can trust him with all that I have. I desire LIFE, not ROT.
Are you living with a heart of peace today?
Take some quiet time to re-read today’s verses. Is there one that catches your attention?
Consider:
Is God speaking to me?
Am I lacking wisdom in this area?
What is God trying to teach me?
Will I allow his Spirit to guide me?
The Proverbs were written so that we might gain wisdom and instruction in the ways of the Lord. (Proverbs 1:1-7)
PRAYER
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalm 139:23-24)
Amen.
