September 2

Sep 2 - Today from Proverbs 2 we look at verse 7
"He holds victory in store for the upright and he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless."

Be very cautious of the 'faith teachers' of today who would isolate such verses as this and apply it to this temporary life. Such faith is very short-sighted and tends to focus people on self-centeredness. To be sure, there are rewards in this life for those who walk upright before the Lord. But there are no guarantees that all rewards will be given in this life. Many young and immature Christians have been disappointed when they did not receive the objective of their ‘faith’ as they had expected through errant teaching.
When we accepted the good news of being redeemed and restored by Jesus Christ, we were also expected to receive Him as our LORD. Our entire lives are to be surrendered to Him in order that we may grow to be like Him. His life is the example of man living out the purposes of the Father. He never used His faith on short-term self-fulfilling goals. He used His faith to follow the Father's plan and purposes for His life. He lived a perfectly upright and blameless life, but His victory came after the cross, not before it. Today He calls us to pick up our cross daily and follow Him.
Our victory is secure and our reward is sure. They are found in Christ Jesus. If we live uprightly, we live in a constant relationship with Him. Does He indeed shield us from physical harm and promise us victory over the enemies of the cross in this life? Can we 'take authority' over the doers of evil in His name and subdue them by 'claiming' the promise of this verse? Jesus says in Matthew 10:28, "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." As we abide in Christ, our faith places obedience to God as a higher value than our very lives. The writer of Hebrews writes to the church that has endured persecution for the sake of the gospel, "You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised." (10:35, 36). These verses give much greater perspective to the promise of our verse in Proverbs - eternal perspective. The rewards God has in store for us are infinitely greater than the temporary rewards our flesh would desire. As Christians, we indeed walk in victory. It has already been secured for us at Calvary. As Christians we battle against the powers of darkness not for victory, but from victory. Faith keeps that truth in our hearts, even when the battle rages around us so intensely that we see no hope in sight. . . we see Jesus. He says to us, "Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done." (Rev. 22:12). God is faithful. Every act of obedience will be rewarded - but not every act will be rewarded in this life. Jesus brings His reward with Him on that Day. Paul writes in 2 Cor. 4:18, "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."