Tag Archive | providence

Proverbs 27 – Tomorrow I’ll do this and that….

Jul21

Good afternoon y’all. Today we are studying Proverbs 27.

Be blessed 🙂
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“Do not boast about tomorrow, For you do not know what a day may bring forth” (V1 NKJV).

“Don’t brag about tomorrow, since you don’t know what the day will bring” (V1 NLT).

No one knows what tomorrow will bring or be like, so it’s silly of us to start making promises or boast about tomorrow as if we own tomorrow. ‘Tomorrow I’ll do this, tomorrow I’ll do that..’: what if God decides He has a different plan for tomorrow? Have we forgotten that our God is the God of Providence?

I’m guilty of this most of the time but I have a friend who constantly reminds me it’s better to say, “if God wills it, I will do this and that”. It takes away the pride by reminding me that it’s only by God’s grace that I can do whatever I plan for tomorrow.

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not saying we shouldn’t make plans or prepare for tomorrow. No.  I’m saying let’s have it at the back of our minds that, even as we plan, God is sovereign and He alone knows what tomorrow has in store for us. So let’s make plans while trusting that He will help us achieve them, if it’s His will for us.

James 4:13-16 gives a similar admonishment:
“Look here, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year. We will do business there and make a profit.” How do you know what your life will be like tomorrow? Your life is like the morning fog—it’s here a little while, then it’s gone. What you ought to say is, “If the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that.” Otherwise you are boasting about your own pretentious plans, and all such boasting is evil” (NLT).

I checked MHCC on this verse and I quite like how he has explained the verses. The commentary is quite long but I have extracted some below. You can read the full commentary by following the link. https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/matthew-henry/Jas.4.11-Jas.4.17

“Observe here, 1. How apt worldly and projecting men are to leave God out of their schemes. Where any are set upon earthly things, these have a strange power of engrossing the thoughts of the heart. We should therefore have a care of growing intent or eager in our pursuits after any thing here below. 2. How much of worldly happiness lies in the promises men make to themselves beforehand. Their heads are full of fine visions, as to what they shall do, and be, and enjoy, in some future time, when they can neither be sure of time nor of any of the advantages they promise themselves; therefore observe, 3. How vain a thing it is to look for any thing good in futurity, without the concurrence of Providence.
What is your life? It is even a vapour that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away, Jas. 4:14. God that wisely left us in the dark concerning future events, and even concerning the duration of life itself. We know not what shall be on the morrow; we may know what we intend to do and to be, but a thousand things may happen to prevent us. We are not sure of life itself, since it is but as a vapour, something in appearance, but nothing solid nor certain, easily scattered and gone. We can fix the hour and minute of the sun’s rising and setting to-morrow, but we cannot fix the certain time of a vapour’s being scattered; such is our life: it appears but for a little time, and then vanisheth away; it vanisheth as to this world, but there is a life that will continue in the other world; and, since this life is so uncertain, it concerns us all to prepare and lay up in store for that to come.
III. We are taught to keep up a constant sense of our dependence on the will of God for life, and all the actions and enjoyments of it: You ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that, Jas. 4:15. “You ought to say it in your hearts at all times, and with your tongues upon proper occasions, especially in your constant prayers and devotions, that if the Lord will give leave, and if he will own and bless you, you have such and such designs to accomplish.” We must remember that our times are not in our own hands, but at the disposal of God; we live as long as God appoints, and in the circumstances God appoints, and therefore must be submissive to him, even as to life itself; and then, 2. If the Lord will, we shall do this or that. All our actions and designs are under the control of Heaven. Our heads may be filled with cares and contrivances. This and the other thing we may propose to do for ourselves, or our families, or our friends; but Providence sometimes breaks all our measures, and throws our schemes into confusion. Therefore both our counsels for action and our conduct in action should be entirely referred to God; all we design and all we do should be with a submissive dependence on God”. (Matthew Henry’s commentary)

Thanks for joining today. Pls feel free to share your thoughts on the chapter.

Have a blessed day 🙂

***With God all things are possible***

Genesis 37

Nov4

Good morning y’all. Happy Tuesday!!!.
Today we in chapter 37. Here, we are introduced to Joseph and his siblings and the rivalry between them. Also how they plotted to kill him but instead sold him off to Midianite traders.

Be blessed 🙂

There are 5 points I want to bring out from this chapter.

1) Favoritsm amongst siblings –
As parents we shouldn’t be showing favoritism amongst our kids. It doesnt promote healthy relationship. Jacob made the same mistake and it caused the seed of bitterness and jealousy to take root in the life of his children. He singled Joseph out from the rest and as a result they hated Joseph. Scripture says he was hated by them.

I also think we can apply this to our everyday lives. We should endeavour to treat people equally as much as we can so that we promote healthy relationships wherever we go. James 2:8-9 tells us not to show favoritsm.

You will do all right, if you obey the most important law in the Scriptures. It is the law that commands us to love others as much as we love ourselves. But if you treat some people better than others, you have done wrong, and the Scriptures teach that you have sinned. (James 2:8-9 CEVUS06)

2) Discernment to know when to talk and when to shut up! –
I am sure Joseph knew his brothers hated him yet youthful exuberance led him to  share his dreams with them (this he did twice. Even his own father rebuked him the 2nd time) which caused them to hate him even more.

Not everyone will be happy or agree with our dreams and visions therefore we need discernment and wisdom to know when to share those dreams and when to keep quiet about them. We don’t have to go round blabbing everything that God has revealed to us about our lives, rather lets trust God to reveal them to the world in his own time.

3) Uncontrolled emotions/feelings/desires will lead one down the path of destruction –
Josephs brothers were jealous of him and Joseph sharing his dreams with them didn’t help matters at all. Jealousy if not dealt with will lead one to commit sin.

We saw the effect of envy and jealousy in the life of Rachel in Genesis 30 (see blog on Genesis 30 ). Jealousy robs us of our joy and peace. Instead of his brothers to enjoy his company and bond together as a family, they were plotting how to kill him instead.

I noticed the decision to kill Joseph was a joint decision. I once heard a preacher say “evil loves company”. His brothers conspired together except for Reuben who wasn’t too happy with the decision to kill him. He told them to throw him in a well with the intention of coming back to rescue him from the well after the other brothers have left.

Let’s make sure we do not let our emotions get the best of us. Their uncontrolled Jealousy led them to plot to kill their own brother; their flesh and blood. Uncontrolled desires will lead us astray.

We see similar sibling rivalry and jealousy in the life of Cain and Abel (see blog on Genesis 4 ). Jealousy led cain to kill his brother. What i find amazing here is that before cain killed Abel, God warned him about his desires and emotions.

You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Genesis 4:7 NLT)

Same warning applies to us today. Those emotions will come but we must learn to master them with the help of the holy spirit. We can’t be led by our feelings or emotions -that’s carnality. We are to be spiritually minded -led by God’s Holy Spirit. Romans 8:12-14 says:

Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. (Romans 8:12-14 NLT)

4) One sin always leads to another-
After selling Joseph, they decided to come up with a story to cover up their actions seeing as they have to answer to their father when they return home.

Ain’t it funny that we always have to cover up our sins because we don’t want people to know about them. We are ashamed of people finding out about our actions or even the consequences to follow when they find out about what we have done; so we come up with a plan to cover up our sins. In the process of trying to cover up, we end up sinning again and eventually it becomes a cycle we struggle to break free from. One sin ALWAYS leads to another. They already sold their brother, now they are having to lie to cover up for it .

Sin won’t rest until it has fully destroyed the person it has taken a hold of. Hence why scripture constantly warns us to flee from sin. I like the way James 1:14-15 explains the sin life cycle. It usually starts with a desire and ends up giving birth to death!

We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. (James 1:14-15 CEVUS06)

5) Gods Providence and Sovereignty–
Josephs brothers started with a plot to kill him; then they moved on to dumping him in a cistern and then finally moved on to selling him to Midianite traders who took him to Egypt. I think that was God indirectly ordering Josephs steps. He must have been the one making his brothers change their mind. Even though it was a bad situation, God was still watching out for Joseph and we know that in the end God turned everything around for Joseph and his dream came to pass. See Genesis 50:20

But as for you, you meant evil against me; but  God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it  is this day, to save many people alive. (Genesis 50:20 NKJV)

Whatever situation you find yourself today, remember God is sovereign and HE can move on your behalf and even cause your enemies to send you to your place of destiny. HE can turn whatever evil plans they have around for your good. Be encouraged 🙂

Prayer:
Dear Lord we thank you for today. We thank you for your word that gives life to us.  Today we ask for grace to treat people aright as you desire of us. Give us a discerning spirit and wisdom to know when to talk and when not to. Help us not to be controlled by our desires but rather give us the grace to yield ourselves to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Teach us to trust you and know that you can turn things around for our good. Thank you dear Lord. We love and appreciate you. In Jesus Name. Amen

Thanks for joining today and I know you have been blessed 🙂

Have a wonderful Tuesday, yielding to the leading of the Holyspirit 🙂

***With God all things are possible***