Wisdom Over Misplaced Worth

If you have been on here lately then you know that we are reading through Proverbs. It’s like the easiest straight forward thing since Siri brought us voice texting! Whatever day of the month it is… You turn to that chapter of Proverbs and read it. In fact, because the Lord is good to us and we have an app for everything, you can even listen to the chapter for the day. This has been a game changer for me while I put on my make-up, drive a billion miles a week or make dinner. (download dwell or you version for tools that help cultivate the habit of reading/listening to God’s word)

Anyhoo, back to this week of our proverbs challenge. While reading through the chapters this week, there were a couple of strong themes that kept coming through. One was our speech, which I shared about earlier on Instagram.

The other theme is woven all throughout the Bible and I was reminded of it this week while reading chapter 16.

We can make our own plans,
    but the Lord gives the right answer.
² People may be pure in their own eyes,
    but the Lord examines their motives.
³ Commit your actions to the Lord,
    and your plans will succeed.
⁴ The Lord has made everything for his own purposes,
    even the wicked for a day of disaster.

⁹ We can make our plans,
    but the Lord determines our steps.

Proverbs 16:1-4,9

Y’all, right off the bat, in the first several verses of Proverbs, we are confronted with the idea that we are limited. Wait a minute! Doesn’t the world tell us we can do and be anything if we just set our minds to it? We can plan precisely, believe in ourselves boldly, and become obsessed with being amazing at darn near everything. Right? But, that is so exhausting. And if we are honest, that version of ourselves, is often no fun to be around. Not only that, it is counter to God’s best for us. 

THIS. IS. GOOD. NEWS. PEOPLE. 

God is in control of the universe. And He. Loves us! Not just if we do the right things or accomplish the best goals or follow the rules. But He loves us because. Because He is loving and He created us in His own image. Then chose to save us from our limitedness by sacrificing His son (John 3:16-17).

That means we can look to him for our worth… not to our accomplishments, or to our children’s, or to what our neighbor is achieving or the world’s approval of us. When we trust in Jesus, we become free from all of that! 

He conquered sin. Mine and yours and for the love of it all… our offspring’s. Yes, we will struggle with sin but our battle against it is no longer a dead end street. We have the living God not only on our side but in our very hearts and souls. 

We are reminded in Romans that…

The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.

Romans 8:11

Sister, we have freedom! Freedom from the pressure to live up to the world’s ever-changing standard. Instead, we can seek God and His wisdom. We can trust in His unfailing love and faithfulness more than the shaky foundation of our best laid plans. 

Take heart my friend… this doesn’t suggest we have to lay down our gusto or our grit.

Continue to strive, to learn, to grow, to lead and to serve! Use the gifts, talents, and passions you’ve been graciously given to make a difference in your sphere. But, do so from a posture of one who has been chosen by her Heavenly Father (Ephesians 1:3-4). Chosen because you are loved and wonderfully created regardless of your performance.

And when we fail. Or flounder. Or falter. Remember dear one, that the Lord uses our shortcomings to show us that he is beyond able to rebuild, reorient and repair. Let us run hard after Jesus! Knowing that He will take the most finite of efforts and build a foundation of wisdom in our lives (Proverbs 16:16).

Whether we are just beginning our journey or we have walked with the Lord for decades, may we become good stewards of our hard fought lessons, leveraging them for something greater than our own self worth.

What matters most to God will ultimately, be most satisfying to us.

I love being on this journey with you!

xoxo,