Tiny Devotional for Sunday, 07-23-2023

 A great good morning to all my friends and neighbors in Internet Land! And to family members who have dropped by, reach for the sky.

Do not let your heart envy sinners,
But live in the fear of the Lord always.
Surely there is a future,
And your hope will not be cut off.
Proverbs 23:17-18, NASB

Today’s verse is 18, but I included 17, because I THINK they are a couplet. I wrote about verse 17 last month, and will try not to repeat myself.

Our senses describe the present, our memory describes the past; the future is described by our hopes and our fears. In this little verse, we are given one of the strongest foundations for peace: yes, you DO have a future, and it’s a good one.

Under most circumstances, we take the future for granted. If you have ever been forced to doubt that a future exists, you know how chilling that is. ‘No future’ is MUCH worse than ‘bad future.’ This verse draws us back away from the abyss of nothingness, and back into reality: yes, you DO have a future. 
(If that means nothing to you, cool. You might want to save it for later.)

I THINK this is a couplet with 17, because it’s a promise that goes with the pledge: 

  • I will live in holy amazement at who He is and what He has done, and 
  • He will complete it all; 
  • He will follow through; 
  • He will reveal what He planned all along;
  • He will make it right;
  • He will wipe away every tear;
  • He will bring us home forever.

Our hope will not be cut off; in fact, we will discover that our hopes weren’t big enough.

He’s much more than we could imagine. 

Peace be on your household.

Comments

  1. AnonymousJuly 23, 2023 at 10:15 AM

    This very comforting. I needed this.⛅️

    ReplyDelete
  2. Brandon BrownJuly 23, 2023 at 2:15 PM

    This was a great message! Thank you for always sharing with us!

    ReplyDelete
  3. On Christ the Solid Rock I StandJuly 24, 2023 at 7:12 AM

    Yes indeed my Brother Pat, we should never envy sinners. There is nothing good if we put our affection to the life of the ungodly people.
    Only live in the Fear of the Lord

    ReplyDelete

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