June 5

Jun 5 - Today from Proverbs 5 we look at verse 21
"For a man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths."

A good verse for believers to commit to memory is Isaiah 55:9 where God says of Himself, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." It gives us great perspective of the abilities of God in comparison to those of our own. Our best minds constructed an incredibly complex telescope, and then they actually sent it into space where the view would be unobstructed by the distortions of our atmosphere. They can now clearly see farther than they ever could before -- millions and millions of light years away -- yet they have not yet discovered the edge of the universe. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways." Our minds cannot even conceive of the greatness and the wonder of the God we serve! He is greatly to be praised, and greatly to be feared! Hallelujah!
When I walk through a crowded mall, I enjoy 'people watching'.
"I wonder if he dressed that way on purpose?"
"I can see who's in control of that relationship!"
"If that were my kid I'd. . . "
"Imagine how many changes he has seen in his lifetime."
"Looks like mom took the kids for a trip to the big city."
That's right, we can think whatever we want. Nobody can hear our thoughts. As I watch people of all flavors walk by, my mind selects the interesting, makes a quick judgment and moves on. That's how we people are; curious, limited in our understanding, singularly focused. That's not how God is. He wasn't made in our image nor is He bound by our time/space limitations. It is incredible to think that He knows every person in every mall all the time and He knows exactly where they came from, what their life is like, what they are thinking and why they dressed that way. All at once, all the time. In fact He knows all of this regarding the four or five billion people who live on this earth -- all at once, all the time. And, he has the capability to be intimate with each of them -- all at once, all the time. Is that incredible!?!
My focus is to be on one man - myself. God knows me intimately. My most guarded thoughts are in full view of the Lord. My most covert actions are in full view of the Lord. And do you know what? He isn't the least bit distracted by threats of war, by catastrophic disasters, or by whatever else may be breaking headline news. Not only are my ways in full view of the Lord, He examines them. In the original Hebrew it means that He mentally weighs them. He makes judgments on them. HE CARES! He cares about me, and He cares about how my ways affect others that He cares about. When I am aware of this, I am also aware of how important self-examination, confession and repentance is. Thank God for the shed blood of Jesus! Thank God for His mercies, which are new every morning!
Wisdom is understanding that each of our ways are in full view of God and that God ponders and weighs the paths we choose. This is not meant to be a negative thing. It is a wonder that our Father intimately cares for us on an individual basis, and that He is more than willing to give us proper guidance. And when we stumble and turn down a wrong path, it is a wonder that He has provided endless mercy at an extreme cost to Himself on a cruel cross. When we judge our own path, and turn back to Him, it is not a long lonely walk back. He is right there when we turn. He walks along side us, encouraging us every step of the way, as we make our way back.
O, the wonder of God!