Proverbs 13:3-4 

³Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin. ⁴A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

Higher Than

         Have you ever asked, “How do I know the will of God? How do I know the career path that God prepared for me?” Simple answer is, “Nobody knows!” It is impossible for the limited mindset of mankind to know the will of God and which career path God had prepared for us. Why? The thoughts of God are higher than what mankind thinks. The ways of God are higher than the ways of mankind.

         Together, let us seriously reflect on what it declares in Ephesians 2:10. (ICB) ¹⁰God has made us what we are. In Christ Jesus, God made us new people so that we would do good works. God had planned in advance those good works for us. He had planned for us to live our lives doing them.

         God planned and wants us to do good works he designed in advance. By human effort we can never follow the will of God. By human instinct, we follow our human inclination which opposes the plan of God. Therefore, when we plan for career path by following God’s design for us we rely upon the guidance of his Holy Spirit. And, when we prayerfully seek inspiration his Holy Spirit, he helps us know the will of God for us including the career path he wants us to take.

         Together, reflect on Isaiah 14:24, ²⁴The Lord Almighty has sworn, “Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen.

         The Lord Almighty makes it sure that his purposes prevail. Can you accept that God placed you in your current situation to accomplish his great purpose? If so, then praise and thank God for whatever incident he allows to happen in your circumstances. Sometimes, we may not appreciate our situation, but we are commanded to give thanks in all circumstances, good ones or not good ones.

         Our behavior during difficult situations would testify of the transformation that the Lord did in our life. Observers will wonder of what happened that we are grateful to any and every circumstance we face and not just during fine moments. And when that happens, we testify for Christ and speak about his gospel.

1.  Speak

³Those who guard their lips preserve their lives, but those who speak rashly will come to ruin.

         It is easier to communicate when we speak the language of our listeners. But if listeners speak in foreign language, it won’t favor us and our listeners if we speak rashly. We have to be prayerful and ask God for divine timing. We pray that we may also speak of the right language that may convince our listeners.

         God places us in situations where we can testify for Christ. Do you agree?

Napintas

         Once upon a time in the Northern Philippines, a huge foreigner visited the countryside. Children in the countryside were curious of the huge foreigner, and they surrounded him with so much curiosity. With booming voice the foreigner said, “Naimas nga ubbing!” The children were scared and ran away! The huge foreigner may have tried to practice the Ilokano phrase he just learned recently.

         The Ilokano term “Naimas” means delicious; and “Ubbing” means children.

         The missionary asked his interpreter, “Why did the children run away? What did I just tell them?” His interpreter replied, “You said, ‘Delicious children!’ and the children thought that you may want to eat them, so they ran away.”

         The missionary may have wanted to say beautiful children which in Ilokano term, “Napintas nga ubbing!” Ilokano terms “Napintas” for beautiful and “Naimas” for delicious have almost similar sound that can be mispronounced by foreigners.

When we communicate the gospel of salvation, our confidence should not come from our expertise. Instead, we should prayerfully ask God to inspire us.

Together, let us reflect meditatively what Hebrews 13:5-7 admonish us.

⁵Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” ⁶So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” ⁷Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. 

         Sometimes, the Lord may allow struggles to happen, and if struggles are too difficult for us overcome, he also provides solutions for us to keep trusting him even more. When by God’s grace we overcome our difficulties, it testifies of our confidence that the Lord help us in any circumstance. What should we do for us to be confident that God will never leave us nor forsake us? We have to keep ourselves from the love of money; we should be satisfied with what we have.

2.  Satisfy

⁴A sluggard’s appetite is never filled, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.

         A “sluggard” pertains to a person who is not eager to accomplish anything. He’s passive or pretends as if he’s working on something just to avoid being accused of not doing anything. Most often sluggards are hired for short term labor. They get paid for the times they check in to work until they check out.

In Proverbs 12:24, ²⁴Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.

Even a sluggard will desire to have better compensation, which is normal but of course, no employer in his right mind would eagerly promote a sluggard. It’s a very sad reality but there are not a few sluggard workers in the government. Government workers are not meticulously supervised as compared to private owned establishments. This is one reason we must pray for government leaders.

As opposed to sluggard or being passive, the term “diligence” includes determination, eagerness and sharpness to accomplish an obligation. Diligence, determination and eagerness to accomplish something without being supervised are the open secret behavior of anyone who thrives to succeed in their chosen career, business or just regular employment. Diligence is not one time behavior.

In Proverbs 10:4, ⁴Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

         Diligence requires consistency. Certainly, it is smart to be diligent at work consistently. A diligent person must have found satisfaction at work. It is affirmed in the Scripture that the diligent will be satisfied. In contrast, workers would tend to be sluggard, passive or relax when they cannot find satisfaction in their work.

Quit

         Documentary videos about individuals who quit high paying corporate job are accessible online. An engineer lost eagerness of working in his corporate job; so, he quit. He bought a farm and became a farmer. Diligence and determination to work without being supervised are open secrets of successful farmers.

         A sluggard farmer will certainly get hungry because farming depends on consistent diligence. But, a diligent farmer will be satisfied at harvest time.

         Diligence is not limited to manual activities. Intentional improvement to increase knowledge and perform efficiently and productively requires diligence.  Diligence practically exhibits smartness as compared to mediocrity of sluggard who has no desire for improvement at work or personal betterment for himself.

         Spiritually, we desire to be satisfied in our Christian life now and also in eternity. What can we do? We should be diligent in prayer. Personally, how do you interpret what it declares in Revelation 5:8? ⁸The four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.

         Did you know that the Lord collects our prayers? Did you know that God has records of our prayers? When we gather and share our prayer items during Prayer Meeting, we also list down our prayer requests, thanksgiving and praises. For sure, the Lord must be glad when we pray for each other, why?

         It exhibits dependence to God when we pray for his help and his blessings. Dependence on God is practical proof of faith in him. Imagine living in a house where you do not personally know the house owner. It is terribly uncomfortable.

So, if we are hopeful that we enter heaven and live with God forever, we want to be sure that we are comfortable to be around the Lord, so we pray more! It will be great to live in heaven when we feel comfortable being with God, right?

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