Proverbs 23 NLT
My child, if your heart is wise, my own heart will rejoice! Everything in me will celebrate when you speak what is right. Don’t envy sinners, but always continue to fear the Lord. You will be rewarded for this; your hope will not be disappointed. (15-18)
Nothing is more thrilling to a parent than when their child does the right thing, thinks in the right way, or speaks the right words. When we see our children intentionally put into practice the things we have taught them it gives us the greatest joy. This is especially true when we see our children seeking the Lord and pursuing Him in a relationship that is no longer from their “parents” but that is fully their own. As the writer says, “everything in us celebrates” when we see that our kids get it. Imagine how God feels when He sees us (His children) getting it, doing what is right, and trusting Him fully.
We read God’s promises that He will never leave us and never forsake us; we see in His word that He is faithful and that He will supply our every need. We know this is true in our heads, but we don’t always really believe this in our hearts. God says that we should not envy the world and worry about having what everyone else has. We must continue to fear Him and put our hope fully in Him. Yet, I still find myself sometimes fretting about finances, fretting about my physical needs, fretting about what will happen in the future when I am old. I know that this “fretting” must displease Him. He is in total control of all things and I simply need to lean into that; if I do this my hope will not be disappointed. I pray that I would trust Him so much that everything in Him will celebrate because He sees that His child finally “gets it.”
