Proverbs 19:21-24 says,...

Today's verses are Proverbs 19:21-24, which read,

v.21 - Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the LORD will stand.

This proverb is very similar to 16.1 which reads, "The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD."  We have what man plans and then we have what the Lord answers and the counsel of the Lord that stands.  I see two different things happening here.  It doesn't mean that man does not plan but that his plans are not the final outcome.  When we realize that God's will is above and beyond our own, our response should be to submit to His and line up with what will stand.  The heart is given when speaking of man's plans.  The plans of man are sincere or at least sound sincere but even sincere plans can be wrong.  We need to look and go with God's answer and God's counsel over our own.

v.22 - What is desirable in a man is his kindness, and it is better to be a poor man than a liar.

God hates lying.  It is on the seven sin list.  It would be better to be physically poor and honest than physically rich and lie.  Our honesty with each other is a character trait that should be elevated and I do believe in society it is.  When someone lies, when we lie, it instantly changes the relationship previous to the lie being found out.  Inside of you something has to be adjusted because of the lie and you have something in your life that is not right.  If the lie is allowed to stand and linger even uncovered it is not so hidden from God.  What damage we do to ourselves when we lie and don't confess and come clean.

v.23 - The fear of the LORD leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

This proverb takes us back to 1.7, which reads, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction."  Seeing God as awesome and to be in awe of Him to follow after His words and ways is the way of the wise.  This proverb gives us the word picture of a good night's sleep.  We love it when we get a good night sleep.  It prepares us for the new day.  We love to be able to put our head to the pillow at night and also have a clear conscience about our relationship with the Lord and with others.  It is good to start the day with the Lord giving our words and ways to Him and to end the day with the Lord rejoicing over His goodness to us and confession of any sins not dealt with.  Sleep is so important to our health.  It is a time for the physical body to recover and repair.  Our rest in the Lord and following after Him is so essential to our spiritual health.  May the mattress that we lay down upon spiritually be that of being more in love with the One we hold in awe and love for those He has brought before us.  Following the two greatest commandments will keep us from participating in evil.

v.24 - The sluggard buries his hand in the dish, but will not even bring it back to his mouth.

This proverb is also said in 26.15, which reads, "The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is weary of bringing it to his mouth again."  The sluggard, the fool who is not resting in God, is so tired that he can't even feed himself.  He has his hand in the plate of food but doesn't have the strength to bring it to his mouth to get the nourishment that he needs.

Spiritually what are you eating?  If you are not eating the Word of God then something else is going into your mouth and you might get so spiritually tired because you are not nourishing yourself with God that others might have to come in and feed you.  Those others will not feed you God's word but other things that may sound sincere but are lies in disguise.  You have to feed yourself.  You need to put yourself in a place to take in God's word.  You need to make it a priority to be more honest than you are rich by the world's standards.  God has to be more important than physical material to you.  Don't get to the point where someone else is feeding you because it will be the wrong nutrients you need to eat because God's method is for us to feed ourselves of Him.  Someone else can not feed you the fear of the Lord.  You have to desire it yourself.  Let us pray.

"Lord, help me not to fall for something that is only sincere but to strive for Your counsel.  Lord, help me to be kind for it means so much more to You than my earthly riches.  Lord, help me sleep satisfied because my awe of You is ever increasing.  Lord, because of the rest I have in You, thank You that I can feed on Your Word and help me to put myself in a place everyday to take more of You in.  Amen."

Pastor Adam 
A simple man serving a great God and the local pastor of Stillwater Community Chapel (stillwater-chapel.org). We are in our 38th year of full time ministry. God directed us to this local body of believers on the Western Range of the Rockies to grow with them in mission and mindedness of Christ.

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