Proverbs 13:4, Only the Best Will Do!

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June 28, Proverbs 13:4

Ephesians 6:10-18 “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal” (1 Cor. 12:7).

Only the Best Will Do!

This text proves true both from a temporal and a spiritual standpoint. Both parties have strong desires, but how differently they go about to fulfill them!

1. The Problem: The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing. To put the problem simply, the sluggard spends all his energy in wishing, not in working. He wants the end but skips the effort. He wants the wealth, but without the work. He would be a scholar but without the study, and this is the problem that kills him. He wants the gains without the pains. He craves, but winds up with nothing. His very desire becomes a torment leaving him restless and unsatisfied. This is the problem that has given rise to every kind of evil scheme. It is the same in spiritual matters for him. He wants to go to Heaven when he dies, but he won’t go with Christ while he lives.

2. The Process: In the soul of the diligent we learn the process. The diligent makes use of all the means of grace available, and he experiences rich divine blessings (2 Tm. 2:1). The Lord tells us through Isaiah (55:2-3): “Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David”. You will never know the fullness of blessing in your Christian life until you embrace that everlasting covenant by dedicating yourself to this Covenant God. The Apostle, in his letter to the Romans, cries: “I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (12:1). By diligent dedication, your corruptions will be subdued, and your abundant entrance into the everlasting kingdom assured.

3. The Prospect: The soul of the diligent shall be made fat (13:4b). That is the beautiful prospect before the diligent. Fat refers to the best part of the sacrifice, the marrow. Only the best was to be offered to God. If we applied this to our practice of Christianity it would result in soul-fatness. Hear again the prophet Isaiah (58:11): “The Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not”. The vitality of the human body comes from the marrow in the bones. When, therefore, Isaiah tells us that the Lord shall…make fat thy bones he is using a figurative term to describe a healthy and vigourous spiritual life. This is God’s promise to the diligent person (Matt. 11:12). Dear reader, be diligent! Rejoice in the promise of Isaiah. Heed the plea of the Apostle. Once we make this dedication we will never lack soul-fatness. “The soul lives where it loves,” and when our heart is in heaven, our life also is in heaven.

Thought: Dedication is resolution that is not afraid of sacrifice.

Prayer: Lord, break my resistant spirit to complete dedication to Thee.