The Rewards of Wisdom

Proverbs 3; I die daily devotional.

²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; ²⁶ For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. 

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It’s such a good reminder to not be afraid of sudden fear or the onslaught of the wicked when it comes.

What came to mind when thinking about sudden fear was Daniel in the lions den ^{(Dan 6)}. Can you imagine being thrown into a lions den for even a moment let alone 30 days? Or what are your darkest fears in relation to death, and can you imagine being thrown into a den of those fears?

I don’t even like enduring those ideas let alone actually experience them.

When I think of the idea of … ME … being thrown into the lions den; I think of what sin might disqualify me from God closing the mouths of the lions that I would survive and be rescued as truly His [God’s] servant.

I imagine that I’m not alone in those thoughts, and it might be that you experience sudden fear when thinking about your judgement day ^{(2 Thess 2:12)}? If so I pray grace and peace be multiplied to you in the hearing and reading of God’s good Word.

When we’ve believed on Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins, and exercise our faith in committing to the truth of His Word, we experience a change of mind that testifies of Christ alive in us, assuring us of our salvation in Him by becoming a partaker of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption of the world by lust ^{(2 Peter 1:4)}.

!^THAT’S SUCH GOOD NEWS^!

Because our Lord and Savior is alive in us by the promise of His gift of grace through faith in Jesus, we don’t need to fear what past sins have been committed nor the present sins we might still be in as I write and you read. Jesus is the confidence of our salvation whether we’re eaten up by our worst sins of the past to present, or by the sins of the wicked surrounding us.

So don’t be ashamed to ‘cry out’ or ‘quietly utter’ the graceful name of your salvation, “Jesus Christ”; don’t be afraid of the power of God. If we have become entangled in sin then let these verses in our proverbs be a reminder of the true light in our darkest hours. Come out of those sins by confessing to Jesus the nature of those sins, and then listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as your mind begins to change and life transformed.

God please forgive us of our sins, increase our knowledge of You, and Jesus our Lord. Amen

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RESOURCE

Proverbs 3 (NASB)—blueletterbible.org
¹ My son, do not forget my teaching, But let your heart keep my commandments; ² For length of days and years of life And peace they will add to you. ³ Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart. ⁴ So you will find favor and good repute In the sight of God and man. ⁵ Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. ⁶ In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight. ⁷ Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the LORD and turn away from evil. ⁸ It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones. ⁹ Honor the LORD from your wealth And from the first of all your produce; ¹⁰ So your barns will be filled with plenty And your vats will overflow with new wine. ¹¹ My son, do not reject the discipline of the LORD Or loathe His reproof, ¹² For whom the LORD loves He reproves, Even as a father  corrects the son in whom he delights. ¹³ How blessed is the man who finds wisdom And the man who gains understanding. ¹⁴ For her profit is better than the profit of silver And her gain better than fine gold. ¹⁵ She is more precious than jewels; And nothing you desire compares with her. ¹⁶ Long life is in her right hand; In her left hand are riches and honor. ¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways And all her paths are peace. ¹⁸ She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, And happy are all who hold her fast. ¹⁹ The LORD by wisdom founded the earth, By understanding He established the heavens. ²⁰ By His knowledge the deeps were broken up And the skies drip with dew. ²¹ My son, let them not vanish from your sight; Keep sound wisdom and discretion, ²² So they will be life to your soul And adornment to your neck. ²³ Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble. ²⁴ When you lie down, you will not be afraid; When you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. ²⁵ Do not be afraid of sudden fear Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes; ²⁶ For the LORD will be your confidence And will keep your foot from being caught. ²⁷ Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in your power to do it. ²⁸ Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, And tomorrow I will give it, ”When you have it with you. ²⁹ Do not devise harm against your neighbor, While he lives securely beside you. ³⁰ Do not contend with a man without cause, If he has done you no harm. ³¹ Do not envy a man of violence And do not choose any of his ways. ³² For the devious are an abomination to the LORD; But He is intimate with the upright. ³³ The curse of the LORD is on the house of the wicked, But He blesses the dwelling of the righteous. ³⁴ Though He scoffs at the scoffers, Yet He gives grace to the afflicted. ³⁵ The wise will inherit honor, But fools  display dishonor.

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COMMENTARY

Chapter 3

Matthew Henry (P3-V25) Commentary
(3.) In their greatest straits and dangers. Integrity and uprightness will preserve us, so that we need not be afraid of sudden fear, v. 25. The harms that surprise us, unthought of, giving us no time to arm ourselves by consideration, are most likely to put us into confusion. But let not the wise and good man forget himself, and then he will not give way to any fear that has torment, be the alarm ever so sudden. Let him not fear the desolation of the wicked, when it comes, that is,

• [1.] The desolation which the wicked ones make of religion and the religious; though it comes, and seems to be just at the door, yet be not afraid of it; for, though God may make use of the wicked as instruments of his people’s correction, yet he will never suffer them to be the authors of their desolation. Or rather,
• [2.] The desolation which wicked men will be brought into in a moment. It will come, and timorous saints may be apprehensive that they shall be involved in it; but let this be their comfort, that though judgments lay waste generally, at least promiscuously, yet God knows who are his and how to separate between the precious and the vile. Therefore be not afraid of that which appears most formidable, for (v. 26) “the Lord shall be not only thy protector to keep thee safe, but thy confidence to keep thee secure, so that thy foot shall not be taken by thy enemies nor ensnared by thy own fears.’ God has engaged to keep the feet of his saints.