Proverbs chapter 16; I die daily devotional.

¹ The plans of the heart belong to man,
But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

PLANS

I feel like a got hit so hard I woke up tomorrow, and I nearly did. Laura and I both worked the graveyard shift last night, but had plans for today because we’re off. During the night last night we had planned to prepare a little video for today’s chapter once we were off the clock heading home; because on our way home the colors of the sky change as night turns into day, and as the sky changes, the colors complement the Dallas Tx skyscrapers in a way that inspires you to marvel in awe and wonder! So our schedule was a productive one to start the day today. But uhhh… That obviously didn’t happen! As soon as we made it home, it was lights-out, figuratively and literally! And it was only about an hour ago (6p) that I officially rolled out of bed. Needless to say… today’s proverbs is appropriate for me.

² All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight,
But the LORD weighs the motives.
³ Commit your works to the LORD
And your plans will be established.
⁴ The LORD has made everything for its own purpose,
Even the wicked for the day of evil.
⁵ Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to
the LORD; Assuredly, he will not be unpunished.

It wasn’t long after waking up, realizing the time, that thoughts began to race through my mind along with the feelings that accompanied them; confusion, guilt, shame, anxiety, sadness, depression, anger, etc. . All of that complexity in myself causes me to pause especially now, while writing this out, praying without even realizing that I’m praying—distracted by so many questions that flood my system—but then that reminder of yesterdays post comes to mind, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”. Except replace Elijah’s name with yours: “What are you doing here, [NAME]?”. And so here I am, applying my faith to that question:

“What are you doing here, [Nathan]?”

⁶ By lovingkindness and truth iniquity is atoned for,
And by the fear of the LORD one keeps away from evil.
⁷ When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD,
He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
⁸ Better is a little with righteousness
Than great income with injustice.
⁹ The mind of man plans his way,
But the LORD directs his steps.
¹⁰ A divine decision is in the lips of the king;
His mouth should not err in judgment.

7:45^pm CST

In the wake of my human storm of logic and emotions clashing with my present circumstances, I knew one thing for certain! I’ve committed to devote dying daily for the sake of—Matthew 16:25, Mark 8:35, Luke 9:24, Luke 17:33 and John 12:25—which is the greatest reward of faith to an eternal life while here on earth!

What is that reward?

¹¹ A just balance and scales belong to the LORD;
All the weights of the bag are His concern.
¹² It is an abomination for kings to commit wicked acts,
For a throne is established on righteousness.
¹³ Righteous lips are the delight of kings,
And he who speaks right is loved.
¹⁴ The fury of a king is like messengers of death,
But a wise man will appease it.
¹⁵ In the light of a king’s face is life,
And his favor is like a cloud with the spring rain.

LOVE AND TRUTH

^{1 Timothy 2:3-} This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

The greatest reward to experience here on earth is that desire; LOVE! Love—is instilled in every true believer that was saved. But saved from what? If the emotion and logic of love did not have meaning or purpose, the experience of love would render null and void—chaotic in nature, fire without limitations or boundaries, meaningless—to be completely random for ultimate destruction; forgotten to the memorial place of hell.

^{1 Timothy 2:3-} This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴ who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

But the reality of my experience to desire, is purposed with structure—even randomness—because of the knowledge of the truth. What is the knowledge of the truth? ^{1 Timothy 2:5} For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, ⁶ who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. Our warning to keeping this truth is different that the warning that was given in Genesis—^2:16 The LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; ¹⁷ but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die.”

¹⁶ How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver.
¹⁷ The highway of the upright is to depart from evil;
He who watches his way preserves his life.
¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
And a haughty spirit before stumbling.
¹⁹ It is better to be humble in spirit with the lowly
Than to divide the spoil with the proud.
²⁰ He who gives attention to the word will find good,
And blessed is he who trusts in the LORD.

WARNING

^{Revelations 22:18} I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues which are written in this book; ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city, which are written in this book.

I’m curious as to what that warning means to you, Reader? For me, I hear what I’m not ready to understand yet—all the while, also—what motivates me to lose my soul. That may sound morbid, but actually, it might be selfish; because I believe in what it means for the reward at achieving it, which is eternal life, but more than that; for all to achieve the reward at losing their soul for the reason of God’s desire. I hope and pray for every man to be like King David in that he was a man after God’s own heart—^{Acts 13:22} After He had removed him, He raised up David to be their king, concerning whom He also testified and said, ‘I HAVE FOUND DAVID the son of Jesse, A MAN AFTER MY HEART, who will do all My will.’

²¹ The wise in heart will be called understanding,
And sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness.
²² Understanding is a fountain of life to one who has it,
But the discipline of fools is folly.
²³ The heart of the wise instructs his mouth
And adds persuasiveness to his lips.
²⁴ Pleasant words are a honeycomb,
Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.
²⁵ There is a way which seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

Especially because our Lord said, ¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”—that He is the root and descendant of David! Jesus is narratively, figuratively, and literally the heart of God! I hope for every man to be found with those words of that testimony:

A MAN AFTER MY HEART

²⁶ A worker’s appetite works for him,
For his hunger urges him on.
²⁷ A worthless man digs up evil,
While his words are like scorching fire.
²⁸ A perverse man spreads strife,
And a slanderer separates intimate friends.
²⁹ A man of violence entices his neighbor
And leads him in a way that is not good.
³⁰ He who winks his eyes does so to devise perverse things;
He who compresses his lips brings evil to pass.

So what are your plans?

What are you hungry for? (Not talking about food).

Do our plans work together?

What is the tongue of the Lord saying to our plans?

³¹ A gray head is a crown of glory;
It is found in the way of righteousness.
³² He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty,
And he who rules his spirit, than he who captures a city.
³³ The lot is cast into the lap,
But its every decision is from the LORD.

I plan to read the next chapter of proverbs, possibly have some more coffee since I’ve slept my day away. If the Lord will, I’ll eat, read, think, write, and plan more tonight with the Lord. I pray we will all rule our spirits as ^v.32 advises.

Until the morning…