Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 17:22

by David Chadwick

“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

Proverbs 17:22

What great truths are found in Proverbs 17:22! Let’s take a look at them today.

The first truth is that a joyful heart is good medicine. Other translations say a cheerful heart is good medicine. What is the primary lesson here? Choose joy! Seek to focus on what is positive. Raise your faith. Focus on God’s goodness. Remember all God’s benefits to you! Choose to believe that everything will work out for good.

Colossians 3:2 says, “Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” Philippians 4:8 says we are to fix our eyes on, to think about, and to focus on what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy. There is a reason why God tells us to do these things! Because there is a clear correlation between what we focus on with our minds and how it consumes our hearts, and thus affects our entire being.

The second truth is that if you have a crushed spirit, it can actually dry up the bones and cause poor health. Secular studies even show this truth.

We are body, soul, and spirit. If your spirit is crushed, it can affect your physical health. If your body is struggling, your mind can be affected. And so on, and so forth. We are interdependent beings.

So, how do you deal with a crushed spirit? The best way is to count your blessings. Each day. If necessary, write them down.

Meditate on Psalm 103:3-5. Don’t forget all of the benefits of salvation. Give thanks in all things. This helps you to choose joy and experience the good medicine that comes from it. As a result, your spirit will not just survive but thrive, and your physical health–your bones–won’t ever dry up.

For more encouragement, check out the song Choose Joy by Parker Robinson as

mentioned in today’s podcast! To listen on Spotify, click here. To listen on Apple Music, click here.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 17:17

by David Chadwick

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Proverbs 17:17

God has a high value for strong, biblical, refining relationships all throughout Scripture. Look at the many times God commands what has been referred to by many pastors as “the one anothers.”

James 5:16 says to confess to and pray for one another. John 13:34 says to love one another. Galatians 5:13 says to serve one another. Galatians 6:2 said we should carry one another’s burdens. Ephesians 4:32 says to be kind and compassionate with another.

The list goes on and on and on.

The heart’s cry of every person is to have good, loyal, and true friends. People with whom we can live out “the one anothers.” In a world full of selfish ambition, personal agendas, and performance-based love, friendships that carry this depth of loyalty are so rare.

More than loyalty, what is even rarer is a friend born for adversity. A true friend will walk with you through both joys AND trials. He or she is not just there for the good times, the chuckles, and the fun moments. While it is wonderful to share great memories, the mark of real relational depth and strength is found when life is not perfect. When sins are revealed. When you step on each other’s toes. When you let each other down. When you’re broken and have nothing to give.

A true friend is always there, in both the good times and the bad, but especially during the fires. That friend is a forever kind of friend. It’s the most wonderful gift when this person is your spouse, the one to whom you have a covenant for all your life! Also, when they are your kids who have moved from children to close friends through the years.

Do you have any friends like this in your life? Those who will stand by you no matter what?

Those who are there for you no matter what? If so, count your blessings and take a moment today to reach out to them and thank them for being a true friend and brother or sister. You truly have one of life’s greatest joys!

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 17:15

by David Chadwick

“Those who justify the wicked and condemn the righteous are an abomination of the Lord.”

Proverbs 17:15

The standard of truth and righteousness are obvious in God’s eyes. The lines are not blurred. And his ways must always be kept apart from the ways of the world.

People and cultures, over time, have moved away more and more from God and his truth. This has happened throughout the ages, since the beginning of time. It will continue to happen with greater frequency and intensity until Jesus returns.

Go back to the Old Testament and read what the prophets constantly warned against. Isaiah 5:20, for instance, shows us some of what was going on in those times. Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”

Do you see the parallels from back then to today? The sin patterns in the Old Testament are the same sin patterns we are facing now. The condition of the human heart has not changed. And you can see them everywhere you turn, right before your eyes. It’s an all-out war against truth, justice, and righteousness.

The laws of God that he reveals in nature and the foundational truths of his Word are being jettisoned, discarded, and abandoned frivolously! We are watching wickedness be justified and righteousness be condemned. No nation can stand when it goes down this path.

We must be people of prayer. We must be discerning so that we, too, don’t call evil good and good evil. So that we don’t mix up wickedness and righteousness.

Until Jesus returns for his bride, our job is to pray earnestly and to call people to return to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

One day, the healing that Jesus brings will be eternal. Until that day, may we all seek to contend for glimpses of healing and righteousness as we wait for the soon and coming victory of King Jesus!