Rest in the Lord (Proverbs 19:23)

I hate it when my alarm doesn't go off. Yesterday, my phone was on vibrate so I never heard my alarm. My day started before I did, so I was left catching up with my day. But it is verses like these that remind me that there are more important things in life.

"The reverent, worshipful fear of the Lord leads to life, and he who has it will rest satisfied; he cannot be visited with [actual] evil." Proverbs 19:23, Amplified

Remember that the fear of the Lord is actually a respect. If you respect someone, then you honor their wishes. Your parents leave to go out of town for the weekend and tell you to have no parties. Out of respect, you have none. If you fear and respect your friends more, though, you will end up having a party. We should never follow the Lord out of actual fear, for His perfect love casts out all fear. We should follow the Lord with honor and respect. For if we do then we will rest satisfied in Him. He gives us all that we need.

Sin leaves us hanging. We always need just a little more. There is no rest when we are living in sin. It is exhausting and it will eventually kill us. Sin causes us to fear and we are constantly hiding the evidence of what we have done. There is no rest in sin.

And as we revere and worship the Lord, we are given a promise, we cannot be visited by actual evil. In other words, our eyes will not be drawn away from Him. Our gaze will be steadily on the Lord. We cannot be visited by actual evil if we do not associate with evil things. Yes, there are times when the Lord allows for certain maladies to befall us. But remember, we are resting in Him. If He was the One to allow it, then He is the One to stop it. Do not be like the adulterer whose gaze is never on his bride, rather be like the newly wed who can think of nothing more than to please his spouse, lover and friend.

Appetite (Proverbs 13:4)

In order to experience life, one must get off his fanny and act. If we sit and do nothing, life passes us by without thinking twice about it.

"The appetite of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the appetite of the diligent shall be abundantly supplied." Proverbs 13:4, Amplified

The lazy man desires and is never fulfilled because his desires never manifest into action. It is like being hungry and knowing where to get food but doing nothing to satisfy the appetite. Eventually you will die of starvation.

The righteous man is diligent for he hungers after the things of God. His desire is for an eternity with the Lord. The diligent man works toward heaven, he fulfills his appetite by doing the things of God. He will be satisfied with heaven, whereas the lazy man will only experience hell. This is not to say that a lazy man cannot be saved and go to heaven. But laziness is not an attribute of God. When one thinks of the attributes of a man of God, laziness is not even close to being on the list.

If ever we read a biography of somebody who lived their life for God, we find one common theme. They were always on the move. Never resting. Never stopping. A stagnant pool of water only breeds disease, but a running spring refreshes the soul.

Use My Hands (Proverbs 6:6-11)

Everything in nature expresses an attribute of God. He has created everything for His own desires and own purposes. It was for His delight that man was created. Somewhere along the line we have lost that ability to see God in everything. Human nature is clouding spiritual perception. Our own nature overcomes us so that we fulfill the lust of our own desires. We fill ourselves with empty promises; the void inside the heart grows larger and larger. Our psychologists of today call it a self preservation. We comfort ourselves. But true self preservation includes hard work. I am not speaking of spiritual works like different religions and cults around the globe. I am talking about hard work in the regular common life. The apostle Paul understood the precept and wrote, "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." (II Thessalonians 3:10, NKJV)

Solomon saw this nature in the ant. Work, work, work.

"Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise; which having no chief, overseer or ruler, provides her food in the summer, and gather her supplies in the harvest." Proverbs 6:6-8, Amplified

Sluggardness is a cankerous sore on our society today. It is eating away at our youth. Have you ever seen an ant sitting under an umbrella sipping a Mai Tai? When ever you see the ant, no matter how irritating they may be, they are always one the move. They are unlike any other insect in the world today. Call it what you will, either laziness or sluggardness, one must admit the observation that I have made is true. It seems that the elders of our society have failed to pass down fundamental values that made our country great. Just two generations ago, men got up every morning and went to work while the women stayed home tending to their families. Where have those values and ethics gone? Go tot he ant. Work, work, work.

"How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you rise out of your sleep?" Proverbs 6:9, Amplified

This is not a rhetorical question. How long will the sluggard sleep? Idleness is something that a Christian is warned against. There is a great proverb (not from the Bible) which states, "Idles hands are the Devils playground." In other words, hands that are not at work will be used for something else. The Christian who refuses to do the Lord's work will not reap the spiritual benefits. His hands will cause him to fall. I know from personal experience that if my hands are not being used for the Lord's work then they will be providing for my pleasure. I woke up recently. I went to the ant. Work, work, work.

"Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down and sleep; so shall your poverty come as a robber or one who travels [with slow but surely approaching steps], and your want as an armed man [making you helpless]." Proverbs 6:10-11, Amplified

This is not the last time that Solomon will use these words. In Proverbs 24:33-34, Solomon will reiterate this same idea. One thing that I have learned is that if the Lord chooses to repeat Himself, it must be very important.

One sometimes says to himself that he needs a little rest, a break. I know that I took a break from school. After graduating High School, I wanted to take a short break before I went to college. My short break turned into 15 years. There is a certain personal understanding that I have with this verse. During my break from school, I had no intention of never going, time just came and went. Things happen at the speed of life and slows down for no man. I never got my career going, I have been working to make ends meet for a very long time.

We are in danger of the same things happening in our spiritual life. Idle hands do not make for a beautiful Christian. I must work. I must do. I was at the place of spiritual bankruptcy; it is a sad and demented place to find yourself. For one moment you live in the kings house dining on exquisite treats; the next moment you are sleeping with the pigs eating slop. No more sleeping. No more slumbering. No more resting. Work, work, work. Go to the ant. Use my hands.