Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 13:12

by David Chadwick

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”

Proverbs 13:12

Hope is a powerful weapon. It provides the motivation to keep persevering, keep moving forward, and keep believing. In fact, hope is so powerful that Proverbs says hope deferred makes the heart sick.

Have you ever hoped for something and had to wait upon the Lord? Have you desired something that took a long time to come to pass? What do you do when God’s answer simply doesn’t come in the period you have wanted to see it happen? What happens when you wait and wait and wait some more?

Many of us are all too familiar with this reality. So what do you do? Believe. Have faith. Trust that the delay has purpose. Know that delay does not equal God’s denial.

Sometimes hope must be cultivated alongside patience and endurance. When a desire takes a long time to be fulfilled, it is important to be long-suffering while contending in hope. God may be doing something in you, in your eternal character, that he couldn’t do without the waiting.

Do you know how to be long-suffering? If not, let me share a few tips that will help you cultivate the fruit of patience in your life. First, remain childlike. Jesus said to let the little children come to him because the kingdom of heaven belongs to people like them (Matthew 19:14). Children have pure hearts and believe that anything is possible.

Secondly, memorize verses like Isaiah 40:31, which says that our strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord. Don’t allow waiting to deter your faith and hope, but rather use the “wait room” much like a physical “weight room” to build your spiritual muscles of faith and hope.

Third, pray and fast. The Bible is clear that some breakthroughs only come through prayer and fasting (Mark 9:29). There must be a reason Jesus practiced this spiritual discipline himself and encouraged us to do the same.

After all of this, when the final victory comes, you will see how much you learned during your waiting period. You will praise God not just for the prize of the “desire fulfilled,” but for all that you learned in the process.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 16:33

by David Chadwick

“The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord.”

Proverbs 16:33

God is in control of everything. Absolutely everything. Nothing, and I mean nothing, is outside of his control. Every single part of creation bows to his authority.

Proverbs says that even the drawing of straws is under the sovereign hand of God.

Biblically, the number 12 holds tremendous significance. It means spiritual perfection. In the Old Testament, there were 12 tribes. Then in the New Testament, Jesus had 12 disciples, or apostles.

In light of that, let me share a New Testament story with you where we see this proverb come to life. When Judas hung himself, the apostles began to look for his replacement. They decided they needed a 12th to be complete. As they waited for Pentecost, they thought this might be a reason for God’s delay. So the disciples drew straws. And Matthias was selected to replace Judas.

The drawing of straws may seem like a strange way to decide the 12th apostle, but God oversaw it. His sovereign hand guided and directed this process exactly as he saw fit. Whether it’s a political election, a historical event, a moment of victory, or a time of loss, we must always step back and remember with full confidence that God is in control. He is sovereign in both the practical and the spiritual.

God oversees all of creation, but for those of us who are called by him to serve him, he is not just overseeing our lives; he is working everything together for our good and for his glory (Romans 8:28). We can and should wholeheartedly trust him with every detail of our lives, every decision we may make, and every twist and turn along the way.

We may not draw straws anymore, but we are always making decisions about our lives and our futures. Through prayer, through wise counsel from others, through the Word of God, and through the power of his Holy Spirit, we must trust that he is guiding us and overseeing everything for our good and his glory.

Our Favorite Proverbs: Proverbs 16:28, The Dangers of Gossip

by Marilynn Chadwick

“A devious person spreads quarrels. A gossip separates the closest of friends.”

Proverbs 16:28 GW

The Bible mentions the sin of gossip nearly a dozen times. Over half those instances occur in the book of Proverbs.

Previously, I shared how one of my wise young friends is intentional to speak well of her husband when talking to others. “I try to compliment my husband in front of others when he is present, but also when he is absent. In situations where it is tempting to criticize publicly, I try to say nothing and follow up on the conversation when we are at home in private. Then, I choose my words wisely—and above all, prayerfully.”

The Bible cautions us about the seriousness of harming someone’s reputation, warning us to “slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone” (Titus 3:2 NIV). The word translated “slander” is the Greek term blasphemeo. It comes from two words—blapto, which means “to injure,” and pheme, or “speech.” It can be translated as “to hurt another’s reputation through slur or insult.”

The Anglicized version, “blasphemy,” is often used to describe the offense of speaking abusively against God. But it also addresses speaking against others. “For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly” (Mark 7:21-22).

Let’s look at three more examples of Proverbs wisdom regarding gossip:

• “A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid anyone who talks too much” (Proverbs 20:19)

• “Without wood a fire goes out; without a gossip a quarrel dies down” (Proverbs 26:20).

• “The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to the inmost parts” (Proverbs 26:22).

In the New Testament, Paul warns the church at Corinth: “I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish...that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder” (2 Corinthians 12:20).

It’s sobering to see gossip and slander right up there with what we might consider “more serious” offenses. That should make us think twice when we are tempted to speak ill of another person—especially a fellow believer.