Proverbs 17

<READ PROVERBS 17 ON BIBLE GATEWAY>

Wow, this Proverbs challenge is really teaching me a lot.  It is also helping me re-learn some things that I seem to have forgotten, like the importance of difficult situations in our walk with God.

             

I’ve never been a big fan of pain.

             

Seriously, I try to avoid it no matter what the cost.  But at age 43, things just start hurting for no apparent reason.  Sometimes I get sore from sleeping.  Last week I had a soccer match shootout with some teenagers at the beach…barefooted.  My right second toe will NEVER be the same.  So I've realized that pain is a part of living - physical, emotional, AND spiritual pain. 

So many of the verses in Proverbs are focused on keeping peace and avoiding “strife.”  For example,

The beginning of strife is like letting out water; so stop before the quarrel breaks out. (Proverbs 17:14)

One who loves transgression loves strife; one who builds a high threshold invites broken bones. (Proverbs 17:19)

It seems like the author is trying to save us from going through pain.  But in the 3^rd verse, Solomon refers to a deeper and more significant type of pain.

The crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold, but the Lord tests the heart.

Why would God test the heart?  What is there to gain?  I think Solomon is getting at the things that discourage us: job loss, health challenges, relational difficulty, etc.  Some of these things might involve physical pain, but all of them involve a testing of the heart.  How will we respond?  What do our lives look like “under pressure”?

My dad once used the phrase “Let’s see what you’re made of.”  At first, I remember thinking it was a biology question.  But really, it’s a theology question.  Just as a crucible and a furnace remove the impurities in silver and gold, so the Lord removes the impurities from our hearts.  It definitely is a painful process that reminds me of what it means to be a follower of Christ.  I must be crucified daily with my Lord so that I can be resurrected through that refining.  What am I made of?  I hope that after each day, I’m made more and more in the image of Jesus.

My prayer for myself and for all of us is that we will know the difference between self-inflicted strife, which we should avoid, and the Lord’s refining, which makes us shine like gold.

What verses got your attention in chapter 17?

Darin Miller

Family Ministries Pastor