$33 Million Man

Proverbs 3:5-10

(Use the link below to read the verses.)

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Proverbs%203%3A5-10&version=NLT;MSG

 

In my office at work there is a picture of the 1968 Detroit Tigers who won the World Series that year. Players on that team included:

·         Denny McLain, the last Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher to win 30 games in a season.

·        Mickey Lolich who won 3 of the 4 World Series games for the Tigers.

     Willie Horton, a power hitter who was the home town hero.

 

Gates Brown, the best pinch hitter in the game. Future Hall of Famers - Eddie Mathews and Al Kaline.

Despite each one of these players being stars, none of them, nor any of their teammates, made as much as $100,000 that year.

 

In 2017, according to the USA Today, the average annual salary for a MLB player is $4.47 million. At the top of the list is Clayton Kershaw, star pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers, who will make $33 million this year in salary alone.

 

Very few people have the level of wealth that Clayton Kershaw has, or for that matter, what the average MLB player makes. But that’s not the point. For us as believers and followers of Christ, the passage in Proverbs gives us direction on how to use our gifts of time, talent and treasure, no matter how much we have or what they are.

 

⁵ Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
⁶ Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere

    you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.      MSG

⁹ Honor the Lord with your wealth
    and with the best part of everything you produce.  NLT

 

The wisdom of Proverbs is that no matter what amount of “wealth” you have, you are to use it for God’s purposes. You are to trust, listen and honor the Lord with all that you have, all that you do and all that you are.

 

 

 

 

Monday

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

There are seasons in my life when I feel that God is trying to teach me to trust and obey Him.  A number of years ago, as I was learning this lesson the hard way, it seemed everywhere I turned those words smacked me in the face.  I would hear that old song playing on the radio (that in itself is reason to pause), or out of the blue someone would casually reply to a comment with, "Trust and Obey." Before the week was over, my ears were tuned in to the command.

And still today there are times when I forget give up control of my life; to turn everything over to Him. I enjoy reading the Message Bible version of this same verse. Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don't try to figure out everything on your own.  Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.

It is really plain and simple. This entire Proverb is a recipe for healthy living spiritually and emotionally; it all boils down to surrendering all to Jesus, letting Him comfort and protect us.  When I seek Him daily, what a difference it makes. In the quiet moments before my day begins, to spend time talking it over with God, sets me up for success and for peace.  As the words to the refrain to Trust and Obey says:

Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Proverbs 3:1-12

Proverbs 3:1-12

I have seldom read from the Book of Proverbs, but that is going to change, as the readings this week from that book are eye-opening.  The lines are like "to do" lists or "don't do" lists for a life well lived. They are instructions for doing the next best thing, when we have stumbled, and we can find some fantastic one-liners to live by.

Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

I question how many times in life, when faced with a decision, did I make the wrong choice because I was going by my 'gut' and not turning to God?  How often did I rush to a conclusion and base that conclusion on my instincts without ever once turning to the One who Knows best?

There have always been difficult decisions to make in life, there will always be seasons when we need all the help we can get just to survive another day.  How do we do this, how to we get the help we need, when we need it?  For me, I have to write down the dilemma facing me, (you knew I would say that, didn't you?) then I ask God to give me His Word on the subject.  For me personally, I turn to one of the devotionals I read daily and start there.

Often God speaks to me with a Scripture that jumps off the page.  More often than not the verse will confirm what I was sensing in my heart, or it will make clear to me that my idea was way off base.  Many times I will still wait for more confirmation.  God will use other people to do this and it can come so subtly I have to be watching for His answer, listening with a still Spirit. (Psalm 46:10)

Trusting God takes practice.  Leaning on Him for answers to life's problems takes courage and faith.  Acknowledging God as our Source of success and the Way to happiness will take all the pressure off of us and put it squarely on the shoulders that can handle it.

Read Proverbs 3:1-12 here

Listen to Proverbs 3:1-12 here