January 2 | Proverbs 14:27-33

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DAILY READING

Proverbs 14:27-33

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REFLECTION

Revolution of the Heart

by Mary Kate Hipp

"The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning people away from the snares of death."

When I was a child, I was convinced that New Year's Resolutions were called New Year's "Revolutions." After all, it sounded more epic that way. I thought it made perfect sense, I was going to revolutionize my way of life in the New Year (what that meant for an eight-year-old who was just too stubborn to admit it was "resolution," not "revolution," I do not know). My stubbornness aside, maybe a revolution isn't so far off from what we need in this New Year.

Perhaps in this New Year, a revolution of our hearts must take place. We fear the way others perceive us, idolize social media, money, friends and family, athletics, our jobs; the list goes on, more than we fear the Lord. These idols could never save us; they are far from a fountain of life as Proverbs 14:27 says. These idols, when in the place of God, are the very snares of death that we face daily.

Take a moment and ask the Lord what it is that you fear more than the Lord. What snares of death (sins and temptations) are you facing?

Friends, we were never meant to carry the burden of sin and death. That is why God sent His Son to die in our place! In 2024, let us not fall into the snares of death. God wins the revolution in our hearts every time. May we fear the Lord above all else. May He, as the fountain of life, turn our face from sin and temptation. Let us make a resolution for a revolution of our hearts. For God will win and we will be turned away from the snares of death.

PRAYER

God, without You we cannot free ourselves from the snares of death. Lord, start a revolution in our hearts so that You alone are the one that we fear. You alone can save us from our sins. Revolutionize our hardened hearts to worship You and only You. We love You, Lord. Amen.