Proverbs 27                                                                                                               

Good morning son,

As we come to the end of this month, I find myself looking at finances and wondering how God is going to pull through this time. Over the years I have believed that God would do the impossible and He often has. You know the story of our first Thanksgiving in Waco. I could go on and on about where, when and how he has come through. That's just it, I can speak of how He HAS come through. I may not be able to speak of how He WILL come through tomorrow.

Proverbs 27:1

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring forth.”

Psalm 27:1

“The Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid?”

Psalm 27:10

“Though my father and mother forsake me, The Lord will receive me.”

Psalm 27:13-14

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Seems like a lot of verses that leaped off the page to me today. But don't worry – this won't be long . . . I think (LOL).

The writer of Proverbs gives us a warning about boasting in what is going to happen. If you think about it, how many times have you been all excited about one thing that was supposed to happen, telling everyone this was going to be, only for it not to. Sometimes I feel pretty sure of myself. I think I am so smart, and even that I alone “hear from God” (said in a deep resounding voice for religious emphasis, because you know. . . we ALL know . . . deep voices sound more holy, LOL). But in addition to this warning I read elsewhere in the bible:

“This is what the LORD says: "Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches, but let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight," declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 9:23-24 – I know, I thought I would help this morning – no need to search for it)

Not to boast in tomorrow. Not to boast in wisdom. Not to boast in strength. Not to boast in riches. Funny thing, did you notice it? All of these things have a similar source - all are held by one. God holds tomorrow. God is the source of all wisdom. God is the giver of all strength. God holds all riches. It only makes sense that we can not boast in that which we do not control. Indeed Jeremiah, seen above, notes that proper boasting is in the knowledge of Him . . . . and of a particular knowledge – the knowledge that He is the God who is kind, just and righteous to men. And you see this in today's Psalm.

Psalm 27 starts out with a rhetorical question – if the Lord is my strength, if the Lord is my stronghold, my refuge, the one I run to for protection, the one I seek for guidance, the run I trust for my provision, the one I believe has my best interests at heart, the one who stands up for me when no one else does, the one who knows what is to be before it is known, the one who sets my path before me, the one who loves me, cares for me, and watches over me, if the Lord is all this and more then who should I be afraid of?

Answer: NOBODY, NOTHING, NOT ZIP, NADA!

The problem with writing compared to preaching is that sometimes you want to really emphasize a point. If I were preaching this I would pause for a moment to let it sink in. . . . okay, then pause. . . .

Then I would say it again: “If the Lord is the strength of your life, if the Lord is your stronghold, your source of life who should you be afraid of?

Answer: NOBODY, NOTHING, NOT ZIP, NADA!

Now while every one is shooting and yelling Amen. There is an advantage to writing that is not present in preaching. In writing I can give you an immediate assignment, so here is yours: Quickly get a piece of paper and write down at least three (3) things which you are afraid of. . . .

dadada dada dada dada . . . dada dada dada . . .

I am waiting. You did it yet? Yes, I do mean for you to do it RIGHT NOW! Otherwise you will not understand what comes next. Okay?

Got it? Done?

Now write the verse above and below it along with the answer. Say each of the things you wrote down and then the verse and the answer with each.

Is the truth beginning to sink in? If not, if you do not feel any different about the matters, if you do not feel encouraged perhaps it is because you might be still thinking of facing them in YOUR strength.

Ahh … See the Psalmist makes it clear that it is in the strength of the Lord that you will not have any fear of anyone or anything. It is in the indwelling of an all powerful God, an all knowing Lord, a caring and loving Creator that you have such strength NOT in your own. You have been looking at those issues and persons from the perspective of what you have to address them. But that perspective is not where the power is . . . it is in looking at it from the perspective that what you need He has and is willing and able to give you. You are His. Doubt whether you are His? Then read on . . .

Psalm 27:10

“Though my father and mother forsake me, The Lord will receive me.”

See my father and mother may not have been “jack” in my life. They may have abandoned me, left me for dead . . . or even worst . . . they may have stayed in and out of my life, but what they did for or to me was more death then life to me, i.e. they may have screwed me but good. In fact, even the best of parents make mistakes – unintentional and yes, even intentional – we are human. And that is just the point. Our earthly fathers and mothers are only human. God is not. He is the source of their life and ours too. We belong first to Him. The Lord receives us as God's own. God loves us as his own. And as we are His children, all that He has is ours for Him to bless and do for us according to His will.

AWESOME!

But the Psalmist is not finished:

Psalm 27:13-14

“I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

I can remember the old saints in church singing, “In the sweet bye and bye. We will meet on that beautiful shore . . .” Oftentimes we see the hope and deliverance of the Lord as occurring after we “cross over the Jordan River,” after the “sweet chariot has swung low to carry us home,” after we have “sung our last song and prayed our last pray.” And yes there is a reward waiting for us. No doubt about it! Praise the Lord! AND there is goodness from the Lord “in the land of the living!!!” Right now God is going to show us His goodness in our lives! Right now in our lives!

But what if we don't see it “right now.”

Don't loose hope. Don't give up or in. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

This wait is an active wait. It is an expectant wait. It is a wait of belief. It takes energy to wait on the Lord for it goes against the grain, we want to do something, be something, get to somewhere. So to wait on the Lord sometimes takes a tremendous amount of energy. It is kinda like sitting in your car at the stop sign with your foot pressing the gas pedal all the way down to the floorboard – that is you wanting to do something, you wanting to move on, to get going with your life – and the other foot pressed down on the brake – that is you actively waiting on the Lord, waiting on the light to change. It takes energy to wait on Him. But don't worry, the light will change. Wait on the Lord.

Well this is where I wrap everything up in a nice little synopsis for you to hold on to, to challenge and encourage. Let's see if I can do this:

Do not boast in tomorrow but instead, boast in the Lord and His love for you, His own child, by standing according to His word, waiting on Him, believing that He “got's” this, confident that nothing is too difficult for His strength working through you, that He will never leave your nor forsake you and that you will see His goodness in your life right now if you but trust and wait on Him.

Hmm . . . I think that did it. But perhaps you can do better than me. Give it a try. Now covenant with God to do this today with the challenges you are facing. I still do not know how God is going to come through today or tomorrow. What I do know is that He will. What an AWESOME God we serve!

Love yah,

dad