January 10

Jan 10 - Today from Proverbs 10 we look at verse 29
"The way of the Lord is a refuge for the righteous, but it is the ruin of those who do evil."

In meditating on this verse I see three elements:
The way of the Lord.
The righteous.
Those who do evil.

I also see two effects:
A refuge.
Ruin.

Three elements, two effects. That means that one of the elements is a cause: The way of the Lord. Strange, isn't it? That the way of the Lord can cause both a refuge and ruin? The way of the Lord is unchanging. God's perfect will is the first cause. When God willed to create, the effect was creation. The element of science that refuses to acknowledge God is still searching for the first cause. What could they possibly be searching for apart from a sovereign being???
All wisdom is included in this first cause. In Proverbs 8:22 & 23 the writer has personified wisdom and speaks in the first person. Wisdom says this; "The Lord brought me forth as the first of His works . . . I was appointed from eternity, from the beginning, before the world began." This is the way of the Lord. Those who seek, find and live in God's wisdom find a refuge. Those who ignore and oppose God's wisdom find ruin. The way of the Lord is the cause of their ruin. That's somewhat difficult to grasp at first. Let's look at a simple analogy. Let's say the way of the Lord is a moving vehicle. It is transporting a passenger from one point to another. It provides heat when it's cold outside. It provides cool when it's hot outside. It provides shelter when it’s stormy outside. As long as the passenger remains in the vehicle he has a refuge. But, let’s say the passenger decides that he wants to go his own way, so he opens the door and jumps out. As he rolls down the tarmac he curses the vehicle for all the pain it caused.
"But," you might say, "The cause of ruin was jumping from the moving vehicle." Yes, it was a cause, but not the FIRST cause. The first cause was the moving vehicle.
As I said, the analogy is simple. As with all spiritual analogies, it will break down at some point. It is only meant to demonstrate the axiom of cause and effect and the theory of first cause. (If one were a scientist, one would continue to go backwards from the moving vehicle; What action caused the vehicle to move? What actions caused the engine to produce power? Back - back - back until he hits a big wall. The big wall of first cause, which is the Sovereign Creator he so stubbornly denies.)
Getting away from science, let's get back to practical everyday living (we have already identified the first cause). The more we determine to seek out and live in the way of the Lord, the more we will enjoy the refuge of our relationship with Him. In Luke 12:22-32 Jesus comforts us with the knowledge that the Creator feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the fields - and we are much more valuable to God than they are. If we will but trust and abide in Him, we needn't worry about our lives - God will provide. He says in verse 32, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom." The kingdom is the way of the Lord. We cannot expect to profit from the refuge of the kingdom when we want to continually jump out and go our own way in this world.