God

22
Nov
2023

God’s Purpose Will Stand

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

But it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Proverbs 19:21

 

My husband is a planner. Both of his parents are planners. My children are planners. They all have great satisfaction from putting together a plan, talking about the plan, and executing the plan. You never have to wonder what to expect when we go on vacation together or even when we will go on vacation. It is talked about well in advance of the actual vacation. All the plans are put into place way before the vacation happens. There is not a lot of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants in our family. Plan are very important. The thought process is that the more that things are planned, the greater enjoyment there will be in the activity and everyone will know what to expect.

Planning so everyone knows what to expect and knows what to pack helps everyone to be prepared, but what happens when the activities don’t turn out quite how they were planned. What happens when the Lord has a different plan than what we did?

There are a few things to consider in this instance.

  1. God is Sovereign.

The more we trust in the sovereignty of God the better we can handle the abrupt changes that may thwart our plans. James tells us in James 4:15 “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” We should make a plan, but always understand that God is ultimately in control of the outcome of our plans. He is the One that allows change to happen in our plans. It is His purpose or His will that will ultimately be fulfilled. It is not our purpose or will that will ultimately direct our days.

This thought should also be a comfort to us as we face various decisions in life. As we seek earnestly God’s will for our lives through His Word and prayer, we can be encouraged about our choices. If our choice goes against God’s Word, we know that this is not God’s will for our lives. God has given us many wise people that we can consult with when faced with a life altering decision: our parents, our pastor, or wise mentors.

At the end of the day, if we make a choice that does not go against God’s Word, but is not the “Purpose of the Lord” He is sovereign and can change the course of our lives. No experience that happens in our life will be wasted.

  1. The circumstances of life reveals our hearts

Whenever we have a plan that does not turn out how we intended it to, God wants to use that detour of our plans to mold us to be more like Jesus. That circumstance or change of plans will be used by God to reveal what is in our hearts. When our plans do not go how we had intended, we are like a spilled glass. Whatever is in the glass will be what comes out. If we have water in our glass, water will come out. If we have selfish desires in our hearts, what will come out of our lives will be anger or despair.

Our selfish desires reveal that we are holding too tightly to our plans. Our selfish desires reveal that we know what is better for our lives, and we think that God’s plans are not the right plans.

It is hard to be “thankful in all circumstances” (I Thess. 5:18) when our perfectly laid plans are foiled, yet God says we are to be thankful in all circumstances. When we meet a foil in our plans with anger, resentment, despair, or anxiety we are in essence telling God that His plan for our lives is wrong.

So what is the answer? Plan in pencil.

Planning helps us to use our time wisely, but we must not hold so tightly to our plans that we get frustrated, angry, depressed or anxious when they do not go as we had anticipated.

God’s purposes will stand whether we want them to or not.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
18
Oct
2023

Who Do You Worship?

“The crucible is for silver and the furnace is for gold,

And the Lord tests the hearts.”

Proverbs 17:3

 

We live in a day of imitation and knock-offs.  I saw my daughter last week-end and she had a bag that said “The Tote Bag” on it. I asked her what the story was behind it. She doesn’t normally carry a bag around with her. She said that it was the in thing now. She did admit that hers was an imitation because it didn’t have the designer’s name on it.

How do we know if something is imitation or a knock-off? There is usually something that will give us a clue that something is not the genuine thing. Our verse from Proverbs starts out by helping us to understand how we can identify pure silver and pure gold. It has to go through a test. The test is fire.

The crucible is a vessel in a refining fire, a place where precious substances are tested, purified, and strengthened. The silver is tested in the fire to see if it truly is silver, and then as the silver is heated all of the impurities are melted out of the pure silver. The same thing happens for gold. As the gold is heated, the impurities are melted off and all that is left is the gold.

Our lives are no different. We all experience trials, challenges, difficulties, circumstances, events, or a stimuli in our lives. God allows these events to happen in our lives reveal what is in our hearts. These trials are meant to test us to see what is truly in our hearts.

There are really only 2 responses in our lives when a circumstance happens. There may seem to be a wide variety of responses, but in the end each and every response boils down to 2 different responses.

  1. We worship God and trust in His sovereignty. When we do this we will experience peace, hope, and joy even though we don’t understand what is happening because we are trusting in God’s perfect plan. As the trials are happening in our lives and we choose to trust God, the things in our lives that are not important or that are getting in the way of us worshipping God will slowly come to the surface and we can choose to surrender those to God so that we are more like Christ or we can choose to hold onto those things, which would put us into the 2nd
  2. We worship ourselves. Now I know that no one would ever say that they worship themselves. That would be preposterous. We might say of someone else though that they are proud or selfish. Who do you think they are worshipping as a proud and selfish person? What does this look like in the crucible, the test, the furnace, the fire, the challenge, the trial? The person may say or think things like, “What did I do to deserve this?” “This isn’t fair.” “What was God thinking?” These people become devastated by the tests that come into their lives. They can’t get out of bed because life just isn’t fair. They can’t do their normal daily responsibilities of life because they are so distraught by the trial in their lives. They are so self-focused that every little thing in life that happens pushes them over the edge. They are depressed or anxious or full of fear or angry because the trial that came into their life is not how they planned their life, and this thing is out of their control. This test that God sent is revealing exactly what is in the person’s heart. It is revealing who they worship.

So there question is who are you worshipping? If you are not sure who you are worshipping, check your responses to the trials that happen in your life. Do you become angry, depressed, anxious, or full of fear when life gets hard? Or do you seek the Lord in the midst of a trial and trust in His providential care over your life, no matter how hard the test is?

Is it wrong to go to the Lord and pour out your heart to Him when life gets hard? No, it isn’t. We need to walk in faith and trust in God, not in doubt, fear, anger, despair or anxiety.

Who do you worship? As you go through trials, the genuineness of your faith will be revealed and demonstrate who you are worshipping. What does the crucible reveal about the genuineness of your worship?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
09
Aug
2023

Simple or Prudent? Wise or Foolish?

The simple believes everything,

But the prudent gives thought to his steps.

One who is wise is cautious and turns away from evil,

But a fool is reckless and careless.”

Proverbs 14:15, 16

We all have many choices and decisions that we make throughout our days. Many of these decisions that we make are made without much conscious thought. The choices that we make daily without conscious thought have become habits in our lives. There are many books written on developing good habits, but the basis of many of our choices are based on habit. My husband gets up for work at the same time every day, walks on the treadmill, takes a shower, has a glass of OJ, and heads to work. He no longer gives a lot of thought to these activities because they have become habits in his life.

We all know the people that have habits that we would consider reckless and careless: poor diet choices, poor entertainment choices, no exercise choice, poor relationship choices, etc.

Our verses from Proverbs today start and end with the simple and the fool. The simple person is someone who is gullible. They are easily led astray usually by their desires. They think that if the desires of their heart are met they will find peace, satisfaction, and happiness. They hope that the infomercial about the next great weight loss pill will solve all of their weight struggles. They believe anything that anyone tells them and think that what they are told will meet all their needs.

This simple, gullible person is easily led astray. They are taken advantage of often and those that are manipulators love this simple gullible person. The manipulator will have a follower in the simple. The simple will have someone who they think “cares” for them. Only too often, the manipulator is taking advantage of the simple.

In order to not be simple and not be gullible, we must seek to surround ourselves with those that are prudent and wise. We must consider the end result of the decision we are deciding to make. Will this thing that I buy actually give the promised results? If I eat this extra scoop of ice cream, am I making a healthy wise choice? If I spend time watching TV, playing this video game, or scrolling through social media am I using my time wisely when there are many chores that need to be done?

The prudent and the wise person thinks before acting and decides if the choice they are making will produce God honoring results or results that are fleeting. So many people are seeking happiness, satisfaction, and having their needs met only to find out that the temporal things they are seeking to satisfy these needs will never give to them what they had hoped. The wise and prudent person sees and understands this. The wise and prudent person understands that God and a relationship with Jesus is the only thing that will satisfy. The wise and prudent person understands that the Bible is the manual for how to live life, not their fleeting desires.

The fool is reckless and careless because they think that the fleeting desires they have will be satisfied by temporal things. Look at the lives of the rich and the famous. They seem to have all that the world has to offer – fame, fortune, and power – yet they are usually looking for more. Drugs, alcohol, illicit relationships, and possessions are what they keep turning to thinking that what is around the corner will satisfy. Yet, it never does.

Spend some time evaluating your life. What are your habits? Are you spending time in God’s Word each day seeking to live according to God’s standard for joy? Or are you known to frequent some external pleasure to provide the satisfaction you are looking for, only to be let down one more time because “it” did not satisfy?

Are you simple or prudent? Wise or foolish?

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
26
Jul
2023

Strife or Advice

“By insolence comes nothing but strife,

But with those who take advice is wisdom.”

Proverbs 13:10

For those of you that have been reading my blog, you know that I have been listening to books. I have been listening to a bit of a variety of books, but recently have been listening to some historical fiction. I just finished a book about the personal librarian of J.P. Morgan. I didn’t even know that J.P. Morgan had a personal library, which is now open to the public, but to have a personal librarian that did nothing but work for him in his library. As I listened to this book I was struck by a number of things, but the one thing I want to elaborate on today has to do with our verse. J.P. Morgan was a very powerful man with a lot of money. He and his librarian had a dream about what the vision for the library should be. As they hunted down original manuscripts and art work, it had to fit in with this vision. J.P. Morgan trusted his librarian as an expert. He knew that she was doing nothing but devote her life to his library. She was well read and did much to educate herself even to teach herself other languages so she could read the manuscripts she was acquiring to be sure that they were authentic. Even though J.P. Morgan had the money, he trusted his librarian and her skill and knowledge in acquiring the valuable treasures that they obtained.

If at the end of the day, J.P. Morgan did not think that a certain item should be purchased his librarian had to submit to his final decision. On most occasions, J.P. Morgan submitted to her decisions since she was wholly vested in this project.

Imagine if either one of them in their endeavors to accomplish their purpose for the library were insolent or proud and were not interested in the opinion of the other. This would have caused nothing but strife. There would have been no peace and no decision would have been made. Rather, they were willing to take the advice of the other and reach a conclusion.

So often when a decision in our life needs to be made, we tend to only see this decision through our eyes and not through the eyes of anyone else. We only see the steps and the outcomes that we envision, and we don’t think that an outcome will turn out any other way than how we think it will turn out. There are many others that have gone before us that would gladly tell you that they wished they would have sought the advice of another or listened to the advice of another, and now they are stuck in a hard place. They think to themselves, “if only I would have listened…”

When we are proud or insolent, we don’t want to listen to what someone else has to say. We are not eager to glean advice from someone else and if we do seek advice from someone else and we are proud, we think that the other person does not know what they are talking about. This causes strife in the relationship. Do you have a relationship that is tense, full of strife, or you are not on the best terms with that person? Is there a relationship that was once close and now because of something that someone said to you caused you to retreat from the relationship because you didn’t like the advice that was given? The relationship might still be intact, but is it superficial?

God gave people into our lives for relationship. He gave us people to help us through life. If we think we know everything and don’t need to listen to advice from others especially our parents or those that are older than us, we will continue to cause conflict in our relationships. There will be strife with others.

What is the conclusion we must make from this Proverb for our lives. Be willing to listen. Be willing to ask questions when someone gives you advice and you don’t understand why they said what they said. Be willing to ponder over the relationship and take into account the care, love, and concern the speaker has for you. Too often we are blind to what others see; we have blind spots in our lives. Just like a driver who may have a blind spot when driving, so we have blind spots in our lives and need to heed the advice of others so we don’t miss out on wise counsel. When we are unwilling to listen, there will be strife in a relationship and we will miss out on the wisdom that will help us better live out God’s purpose in our lives.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
19
Apr
2023

7 things that are an Abomination to God

When our girls were growing up, there were some things that met with instant punishment. First time obedience was a must. If we asked them to do something, they needed to do it the first time we asked and not the 10th time. Disrespect and lying were also big no-nos.  One of my daughters had a pretty rough day in the disrespect category. Another spent a long time in my bedroom until she decided to tell the truth. Those moments were pivotal in their lives. They understood the value of respect and telling the truth. As parents, there are things that require our immediate attention. These things must be corrected quickly because if they are not, the children will begin to lay down habits that will forever taint their lives.

God gave us His word so that we would know what was required of us. The things we should do and the things we should not do.

“There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him; haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” (Proverbs 6:16-19).

In Hebrew writing there is a common literary device which is this 1+ saying. Six yeah seven. Not that they didn’t know how to count or they thought of one more thing after they started writing. Rather, it was common in the wisdom literature to draw attention to what was to follow. It also was used to draw attention to the last item in the list. The last item in the list had great value. As we look at each of these things in the list, we can see that when we do any of the first 6 things it will cause the 7th thing.

These are the things that God hates or are an abomination to Him. In other words, He absolutely abhors them.

  1. Haughty eyes

The first thing on our list is pride. The sin that took Lucifer from being an angel of light for God to an angel of darkness was his pride. Is. 14:13-15 is a quotation from Satan when he sinned. The word “I” punctuates the beginning of every sentence. “I will ascend to heaven…I will set my throne on high…I will sit on the mount of assembly…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds…I will make myself like the Most High…” The pride mentioned here is so strong that it can be seen in the person’s eyes. Their countenance portrays what is in their heart. Those that are proud will flee self-examination and will blame or attempt to destroy those that highlight their deficiencies.  Those that are proud hate failure. When they do fail, they won’t ever blame themselves. They will blame someone or something else. It is never their fault. Have you met someone who is unwilling to ever admit their fault? What about a person who refuses wise counsel? What about a person who thinks that the only person that is right is them?

  1. A Lying Tongue

Have you ever played 2 truths and a lie? Each person has to say 2 things about themselves that is true and one thing that is a lie. The lie has to be something that is believable. Have you met people who lie and are believable? You believe everything they say, only to find out later that they lied to you. Then when you confront them about their lie, they tell another lie to cover up the first lie. Many times when we are in the company of these liars, they make us feel uncomfortable. These with a lying tongue bring about confusion on the part of those that are within earshot of their lies. Do you ever feel a sense of confusion when you are in the company of someone or they make you feel uncomfortable? You need to start doing some fact checking. Not only do those that tell lies confuse others, they also are self-deceived. “…the folly of fools is deceiving.” (Prov. 14:8).

  1. Hands that Shed Innocent Blood

This seems evident that God would hate murder. After all, when one person murders another, they are taking the life of that person made in the image of God. Abortion is murder. There should be no debate about this. Yet there is. In 1919, Congress passed the 19th amendment that allowed women the right to vote. This topic has not been hotly debated in 100 years. This topic does not receive publicity. There are no longer debates regarding the legitimacy of this. Abortion, on the other hand, continues to receive much attention. We live in a fallen world that allows doctors to murder unborn babies. Those that believe the baby is a precious life made in the image of God fight for the rights of those unborn children. Those that believe it is “their body their choice” fight for the right to murder the unborn baby. God hates the shedding of innocent blood. Babies are the most innocent that there is. They cannot even put up a fight.  We must also remember the words of John in I John 3:15 “Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer…” It is not just the physical act of murder that God calls an abomination, it is also what we harbor in our hearts toward others that can be called murder.

  1. A Heart that Devises Wicked Plans

Do you ever wonder what is in your heart? Look first at how you respond to all the circumstances that happen in your life. If your response to every circumstance honors the Lord, you have a heart that honors the Lord. Our hearts in Scripture could also be called our desires. What is it you desire? What is it you want? When you lay awake at night and cannot sleep or you have a moment when your brain is not busy with work or whatever else may require brainpower, what do you find yourself thinking on? Are you dwelling on those things that glorify God like how to serve and love others? Or are you busy dwelling on how you can satisfy your selfish desires? If you are devising, scheming, or planning ways to satisfy your selfish desires, these are wicked plans. If you have to sin in order to accomplish the wicked plans your heart has devised, then you know that what you are planning is an abomination to God. Will your desires hurt someone else or will they glorify God? Take some time to consider what it is that you want. We do what we do, because we want what we want.

  1. Feet that Make Haste to Run to Evil

It is one thing to have a heart that devises wicked plans, but it heaps on our sin when we also carry out those wicked plans. These people are so eager to satisfy their desires they are hastily running to do evil.  We see this in our streets today. In so many big cities, we see people with feet that are quickly running to ransack buildings, cars, and people’s livelihood.  There is no respect of others or their possessions. We have allowed there to be mayhem and chaos. Sin does not produce peace, rather sin produces chaos and disorder. Two of our daughters are teachers. When there is peace in the classroom, it is because everyone is following the rules of the classroom. When there is chaos in the classroom, it is because the students that are creating the chaos are quickly running to evil. What surrounds your life? Peace and calm or chaos and drama? What is your heart devising that your feet are hastily running toward? Is it peace that brings glory to God or satisfaction of your selfish desires that is deceitful and brings chaos?

  1. A False Witness Who Breathes Out Lies

In the same list of seven things that God hates or are an abomination to Him, two of these mentioned include lying. Jesus calls Himself the ‘’Truth” in John 14:6. “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” The Word “truth” is used over 200 times in the Bible. Lying is an affront to the character of God since one of the names of Jesus is “truth.” Jesus calls Himself the “Truth” and the person mentioned here that God says is an abomination is a false witness. These are diametrically opposed to each other.  Satan is the Father of Lies. (John 8:44). As was mentioned earlier, someone who lies will make us feel uneasy or confused because we are never sure that what they are saying is believable. God, on the other hand, and His Word are the truth. Anything that contradicts God’s Word and makes us feel uneasy needs to be thoroughly investigated. Remember, “…the folly of fools is deceiving.” (Prov. 14:8).

  1. One Who Sows Discord Among Brothers

Pride, a lying tongue, a murderer, a heart that devises wicked plans, and feet that make haste to run to evil will bring about discord. A person that possesses any of the previously mentioned six qualities will bring about discord, a disruption of peace. Relationships are valuable. God created us to have relationship with Him. He created mankind to have relationship with each other. After God created man, He created woman. “Then the Lord God said, ‘it is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.” (Gen 2:18). God created us in His design for relationship. Discord in relationship began to happen because of sin. We saw this first with Adam and Eve and the blame game that happened. We can cause discord in our relationships when we possess the first six qualities mentioned in this list. Others can cause chaos in our relationships when they sow discord. Have you had a disruption in a relationship? Maybe the relationship is not what it once was. Sometimes it is our pride or lying tongues that cause a break in the relationship. Other times, it can be others that sow discord by telling lies or creating drama/chaos in another relationship. Someone else can drive a wedge in another’s relationship with someone out of jealousy or desire to control a relationship.

In Hebrew literature, the seventh thing is the culmination. Discord, strife, conflict in relationships are generally caused by the first six things on this list. Do you have a relationship that has strife or discord? Or a relationship that is not what it once was? The first thing you must do is evaluate the cause. Did you cause it? Did the other person cause it? Did a third party cause it? God does not care who caused the disruption in the relationship. He tells us that no matter who caused the disruption, we should seek to mend it. “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.” (Mt. 5:23, 24) It is always your turn to seek to mend a relationship.

 

God sent His Son Jesus to reconcile us to Himself. (Col.1:19, 20). God highly values reconciliation. If there is discord, strife, or conflict between you and someone else, do not let your pride get in the way. Go and be reconciled. Jesus gave His life. That is how highly God values reconciliation.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
05
Apr
2023

Confusion or Clarity

There are various methods for Bible study. As I have been writing this blog on the book of Proverbs, I have been making columns of the positives and negatives that are in each chapter. It certainly has helped me to organize the main concepts and ideas in each chapter. Proverbs calls these positives and negatives the way of the wise and the way of the fool. How many of us want someone to call us a fool? Wise? There are many different characteristics that define those that are wise or foolish. While we are on this side of heaven there will daily be things in our lives that would be characterized as foolish. The goal that God has for us is that with each day we live more wisely and continue to put off the foolish ways of our old self. (Eph. 4: 22-24).

As we enter Proverbs 5, we see wisdom contrasted with foolishness. Both wisdom and foolishness are referred to often as “she.” Proverbs 5 has four main characters. The father is speaking again to his son. We have seen this in the last four chapters. He is telling his son that he needs to be aware of the “forbidden woman” and be satisfied with the love of his wife.

Just because the father is speaking to his son, does not mean that there are only principles for young men in this Proverbs. There are principles in this Proverb for all.

Solomon says again that his son needs to listen, be attentive, incline his ear, and not depart from the wise words he was sharing with his son.  How many times have we as parents told our kids the same thing only in different ways?

I homeschooled my kids. I remember teaching a concept to one of our daughters. I explained the concept to her a number of different ways. Finally, the last way she understood it and said, “Why didn’t you explain it to me this way in the first place?” We all have different learning styles. We explain things how we understand them best first. That is what I did in this particular situation, but that was not the best way for her learn.

God has been using the pen of Solomon to tell us the same thing in different ways over and over again, and will continue to do so throughout the entire book of Proverbs. Why? We all learn different ways, and need things explained in different ways.

We understand the wisdom that Solomon was trying to impart on his son and also consequently on us. He keeps reminding him to listen. Do we listen to those that are wise?

The negatives in this chapter are the description of the forbidden woman, but no one is saying that only women are evil and men are perfect. Since Solomon was speaking to his son in this book, he would be warning him about the forbidden woman. If he was speaking to his daughter, he would have warned her about the forbidden man.

Let’s look at these qualities of the foolish person. They are deceptive (Prov. 5:3), leave us with a feeling of uneasiness (5:4), lead to a bad/deadly outcome (5:5), no thought to the consequences of their actions (5:6), no direction or goals (5:6), and self-deceived (5:6).

What happens to us when we do not listen and allow our lives to become entangled with a foolish person? We will lose our reputation and our integrity (5:9). The foolish are deceivers and manage to swindle others. God has called us to be good stewards of what He has given to us, but when we seek to satisfy our selfish desires the satisfaction we are seeking through these selfish desires never satisfies.

What is the conclusion of this chapter that compares and contrasts the wise and the foolish person? Proverbs 5:12-14 tell us what the foolish person looks like so then the converse of this would be the characteristics of a wise person.

“And you say, ‘How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers, or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation.’” (Prov. 5:1-14)

The wise person listens to those that are wise, searches God’s Word for the principles necessary to live a life of wisdom, and surrounds themselves with people that are wise. Do you run to God first when seeking to make a decision? Do you seek the counsel of those that are wise when making a decision? Do the people that you surround yourself with have godly goals?

The foolish person will leave us with a feeling of uneasiness or confusion. They will deceive you into helping them fulfill their desires, but have no care for what your desires are. They are seeking for others to meet their needs.

“For a man’s/woman’s ways are before the eyes of the Lord, and he ponders all his paths.” (Prov. 5:21)

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments
01
Mar
2023

Peace, Favor, Straight Paths, Healing, and Refreshment

I have two favorite Proverbs, Proverbs 3 and Proverbs 31.  I often pray Proverbs 3: 1-9 for people, but my aspirations is to be like the Proverbs 31 woman. Proverbs 3 lived out in life is certainly an avenue to become like the Proverbs 31 woman.

I like prescriptions and procedures. Don’t you? When you are reading an article or a blog, are we not all drawn to the steps toward a certain goal? I typed into Google “steps to a new you.” The 1st three listed were “5 steps to a new you,” 10 steps to a new you,” and “15 steps to a new you.”  I would much prefer only to have to do 5 steps and I can become a new me.

Proverbs is like a handbook that tells us how to be wise and not to be foolish. Proverbs is the steps we need to be wise, in essence to be a new you. If you do not follow what Proverbs says about becoming wise, then you will be foolish.

Do you want a new you? Do you want a better you? Do you want a you that brings glory to God? Let’s see what Proverbs 3 says about how to be that person. What we are going to see may seem repetitive to what we have already seen in Proverbs 1, 2. The thing about repetition is that we know that if the same thing is said over and over again, we know it must be important.

“My son (or daughter), do not forget my teaching, and let your heart keep my commandments. For length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you” (Proverbs 3:1, 2).

Let’s look at four things that we can have when we follow God’s path for our lives.

  1. Long and peaceful life

Do you want a long life? Do you want a peaceful life? According to Proverbs 3:1 in order to have a long and peaceful life, we need to remember and keep or live out the wise teaching God has given us: wisdom in His word, wisdom from wise parents, and wisdom from those that have lived life according to God’s Word.

  1. Favor and good success in the sight of God and man

According to Proverbs 3:2 steadfast love and faithfulness will provide us favor and good success. There are many relationships that have conflict. There is not a day that goes by that many of us do not experience conflict with family, friends, co-workers, customers, etc. How do we avoid these points of conflict or how do we effectively work through them? Show love to others and be faithful to God’s Word. If we live in relationship with others selfishly, we will have many points of conflict.

I am currently reading a book about being a peacemaker. (The Peacemaker by Ken Sande). He talks about four principles that we need to use in the midst of a conflict.

  1. Glorify God
  2. Get the log out of your own eye
  3. Gently restore
  4. Go and be reconciled

These principles are the principles that Solomon was trying to help us understand in this Proverb. How do we have favor and good success with God and man? Have steadfast love and be faithful. In other words, show others love and be faithful to God and His word.

  1. He will make straight your paths

How do we have straight paths? “Trust in the Lord with your whole heart” When we trust in the Lord and various events happen in life, no matter how difficult they are, we trust the Lord and “do not lean on our own understanding.” (Proverbs 3:5). So many circumstances happen in our lives and we look at these things and think, “why did God let this happen to me? This isn’t fair. I didn’t deserve this to happen to me. I have been obeying God’s word and living life according to what God has to say, and now this happened to me. I have been so kind to this person and showing them such love, and they treat me like this. I don’t deserve that. Why did this accident happen? Why this diagnosis?”

You could add so many more things to this list of things that don’t seem fair. What God wants us to understand is that even though it seems like difficult things happen, when “we trust God and we acknowledge Him in all of our ways,”  “our path will be straight.”  What we want to do is “lean on our own understanding.” Leaning on our own understanding, makes the way that we are on crooked. In our own understanding the way does seem crooked, but when we trust God our path is straight. Every circumstance that comes into our lives is meant to reveal what is in our hearts. These circumstances are meant to reveal the kind of person that we are.

  1. “It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” (Proverbs 3:8)

Have you ever not felt well, especially your stomach, related to stress or anxiety or depression? Many times we have our stomach in knots or feel nauseated because of the things that are happening in our lives. We are trying to solve the problems that we have or deal with the difficult relationships that we have or make a decision that we need to make based on our own understanding, based on our human wisdom. The fear of the Lord is the main theme of the book of Proverbs. The opposite of fearing the Lord is being wise in our own eyes. If we do not fear the Lord in all areas of our lives, we are being wise in our own eyes.

What happens when we are “wise in our own eyes?”  We seek out people that will agree with us on a decision, a problem, or how we handle a difficult relationship and they will give us the same advice that we want to hear. We consider this to be validation of what we think. What about when we are trying to make a decision or solve a problem and we pray about it, and decide we have peace from the Lord and it coincides with what we want? Does this peace we are experiencing actually come from the Lord?

Ken Sande in the Peacemaker says “You won’t be helped by people who are likely to tell you what they think you want to hear (II Tim 4:3). Therefore, be sure you turn to people who will love you enough to be honest with you.” (p. 40)

How many people say that their life verse is Proverbs 3:5, 6 and yet when you look at their life, you don’t say a life of faith in God? Rather you see a life that is living by their own understanding and wisdom. If you are not sure the path you are on, seek out wise people and ask them. Don’t ask those that will agree with you, ask those who love you enough to be honest with you. Once you are on the right path you will experience peace, favor, straight paths, and healing.

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23
Mar
2022

Hear My Voice

When our youngest daughter was about 6 months old, she would cry when she was dropped off at the nursery at church. A pretty common occurrence for babies and children to cry when their parents leave them. They usually stop after a while, or once they get involved in another activity. Kudos to all the nursery workers and teachers that help these sweet ones get through this time in their life.

On Sunday nights, my husband and I would teach the preschool children so we would drop off Delaney in the nursery. I always told them if she didn’t stop crying to bring her back to me. I remember one particular Sunday night, I was teaching the children a Bible lesson and the nursery worker brought her back in her car seat. Since I was teaching, they just brought her into the room and set her down. I kept teaching and she stopped crying. Why? Because she heard my voice. I didn’t have to pick her up or give her any attention. She knew everything was going to be okay because she could hear my voice.

How comforting the sound of someone’s voice is. When we are separated from a loved one, it is nice to be able to talk with them via the phone so we can hear their voice.

I was reminded of this as I read John 10: 3, 4 “…The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know His voice.”

As believers, we are God’s sheep.

There is a lot of noise and confusion in the world. There are a lot of voices vying for our attention, and we have a choice of who we will listen to. The better we know our shepherd, the better we will listen to Him.

God does not speak to us in an audible voice. He gave us the Bible to speak to us. “He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence.” (II Peter 1:3). God does not speak to us audibly, but everything that He has said that we need is in His Word.

Does God’s Word provide you comfort? Does God’s Word give you direction? When you have a choice what do you listen to?

Delaney knew my voice. She didn’t in that moment see me, she heard me. How many think that they need to see God in order to believe in Him? Delaney didn’t have to see me, she knew me because of my voice. My voice provided comfort and peace to her.

Is there an inner turmoil that you feel? Does your mind feel confused or in a haze at times because of what lies before you?

“The sheep follow Him, for they know His voice.” (John 10:4). Do you know God’s Word? Whenever there is a decision to be made, do you go to God and His Word looking for clear direction? The sheep follow God, because they know His voice. How eager are you to know the voice of God? Do you spend time in His word not just reading it but memorizing it? Can you quote His word like the lyrics to the songs you hear on the radio?

Delaney knew my voice. Amongst all the other voices that she heard on that particular Sunday night, it was my voice that brought her comfort. There are many voices trying to provide you “comfort,” but is only God’s voice that will provide you with true peace and comfort.

John 10: 3, 4 “…The sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. When he has brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know His voice.”

(When Delaney was four, she was a sheep in our children’s Christmas play. So appropriate to use this picture for this blog:)

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16
Mar
2022

Gary Dykema My Father-In-Law

Paying tribute to the man who is and now was my father-in-law brings a flood of memories and emotions. The impact he had on so many has been evident by the outpouring of love in so many tangible forms to he and my mother-in-law during his battle with cancer over the last 3.5 years.

Gary Marvin Dykema was born July 13, 1945. He was saved at a young age, but did not start growing in his walk with the Lord until his high school years. He met my mother-in-law during high school as well, and they were married shortly after graduation. He was a hard worker, but he also liked to have fun. He would leave for work at 4:30 in the morning and sometimes not come home until 11:00 p.m. because they asked him to work extra. He retired from working in a factory for General Motors after 30 years, and then worked as a car salesman for 18 years. Like I said, he was a hard worker.

His service to the Lord was seen in many different areas, but his favorite was singing. At his memorial service last week, the choir director told me that no one sang as loud as Gary. Everyone wanted to sit near him because he helped them to read and sing the music better. In their previous church, he was the song leader and my mother-in-law was the pianist. They often sang duets together. They made a great service pair not only in the church, but also outside of the church. They liked to go calling on people that had visited the church. They are both so friendly and easy to talk with that soon after a visit you knew you had just made a lifelong friend with them. Neither of them knew a stranger.

Gary loved his family. He has two children; my husband Dave and his sister Pam. Gary has 2 grandsons, 3 granddaughters, and 2 great-granddaughters. He was able to meet both of his great-granddaughters. Having his family around was always a delight, especially at the cabin. Being at the lake and hearing the peals of laughter across the lake either as he drove the boat or just watched from shore was one of his favorite times. This is where I first met him. At the cabin. He and my then boyfriend (now husband) would be in the boat while I skied, knee boarded, and flew through the air on the tube. He was a great teacher and knew every single time what I needed to do to make the next time more fun.

He also loved to play games and tell jokes. Whenever playing a game and we couldn’t remember the rules, we would call him so he could refresh our memoires. Every summer when they came to visit, he and my mother-in-law would teach us a new game. The new games they have taught us have spread around the U.S. Now we get texts from friends that ask us about some of the rules of the games we have taught them.

He knew how to tell just the right joke at just the right moment. I had a favorite one that I made him tell me every time I saw him. It kept getting better with more details. Good thing we have it recorded.

Gary Dykema is now signing praises to His Lord and reunited with his brother and his parents and others that have gone to heaven before him. He is in heaven, not because he went to church and sang in the choir. He is in heaven with Jesus because he had a personal relationship with Jesus. Gary believed that Jesus died on the cross paying his penalty for his sins. His purpose in living was not to work hard, or play games, or tell jokes. Gary’s purpose in life was to glorify his Creator and Savior as he did those things. If there was one thing that Gary would want anyone to know it is that Jesus loves you. Jesus died for your sins, but you have to do one small thing – believe that Jesus paid the price for your sins on the cross and ask Him to be a part of your life.

Gary Dykema, thank you for your legacy that lives on not just in your family but also in all the friends you have made along the way. We know that God’s timing is perfect and His plans are perfect, but we wish we could have kept you around for a little bit longer.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 2 comments
27
Oct
2021

Persistent and Compassionate

I like a good story. I think we all do. We love the height of suspense in a mystery. The thrill of accomplishment when the underdog rises up and does something great. We love the sweetness of a romance that blossoms and grows. We all love to watch a story about a dog. (What is it about those sweet puppy faces that strikes us at the very root of our hearts? I wish I knew the answer to that, but that is what keeps me coming back to raise another puppy for Leader Dogs for the Blind.)

When we read a good story or we watch a good movie, don’t we sometimes want to tell the characters what to do or how to respond? We want to tell them what is lurking around the corner.

I just finished reading through Kings and Chronicles in the Bible. There is a constant theme throughout these books. You will either see “and they did what was evil in the sight of the Lord.” Or they did what was right in the sight of the Lord.” The latter is not seen as often as the former.

As I finished up II Chronicles, I read an amazing verse.

“The Lord, the God of their fathers sent persistently to them by his messengers, because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place.” (II Chronicles 36:15).

What do we notice about God in this verse? He is persistent and compassionate. God never gives up on His people.

As we read through Kings and Chronicles, we see that God allows His people to suffer because of their sin. He punishes them for the sinfulness of their ways. They reap the consequences of their choices. They experience hardship in so many different ways because of their sin. They experience famine, invasion, captivity, plundering of their goods, heavy taxation and rule by their very own kings, etc. They saw their children being taken away into captivity because of the sinful choices they made.

But God…He never stopped loving them. He never stopped pursuing them. He never stopped sending messengers to remind them of who He was.

He never stops having compassion on us.

In our relationship with God, are we selfish?  Do we pray through our list of requests, never thanking Him for the things He gave to us the day before?

Do we see people running from God and think to ourselves, “that’s too bad?” or do we cry out to God on their behalf asking Him to continue to have compassion on them. Asking Him to work in their hearts and lives and not stop sending to them messengers. Maybe we are the messengers.

The prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) remembered the kindness of his father. His father never stopped praying and watching for his son to come back. God kept watching for the children of Israel to come back to Him. He never gave up on them.

Do we give up? Do we wonder when to stay on the porch as the father in the prodigal son did, and when to chase after the wayward son?

God is faithful. He never stops loving us and having compassion for us, even when we go astray. Yet, He never forces us to love Him. He never forces us to serve Him. He never forces us to follow after Him. He doesn’t beg and plead for us to yield our whole hearts to Him, yet He tells us that if we do we will find so much more peace and joy.

We like a happy ending. No one wants the dog to die at the end of the movie.

God also wants each of us to have a happy ending. He knows that the only way for this to happen is to follow Him. To seek His face. To fear Him.

Where are you in your walk with God? As a believer, we are on a journey. This journey is called progressive sanctification. We will never arrive until we get to heaven.

Do you need to make that journey back home like the prodigal did? The compassionate and persistently loving Father is waiting for you.

Posted by ddykema5@gmail.com in The Seasons of Motherhood, 0 comments