Proverbs 6:6-11:
6Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider her ways and be wise! 7Which, having no chief, overseer, or ruler,8Provides her food in the summer and gathers her supplies in the harvest. 9How long will you sleep, O sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep? 10Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to lie down and sleep-- 11So will your poverty come like a robber or one who travels [with slowly but surely approaching steps] and your want like an armed man [making you helpless].
Have you ever watched ants at work? It is fascinating to watch a tiny little ant trying to haul a piece of something several times bigger than itself! They are VERY industrious! What these verses are telling us is that in order to succeed in life we MUST work at it! It takes diligence to be successful! Remember when we read Joshua 1:8? It is by diligence in the Word of God EVERY DAY that we "make our own way prosperous" and "deal wisely and have good success". A lack of diligence on our part will allow the enemy to come and do what he does best: steal, kill and destroy! Don't be a "sluggard", which is like a sloth: lazy; listless; lacking fire, passion and enthusiasm. YOU were recreated in the image of God in order for you (and me!) to ACT LIKE GOD! And God is NOT sluggish! Once we understand these verses, then we can understand what verse 4 means! It is not wrong to sleep! Some people have health problems because they don't allow themselves to get enough sleep! But what verse 4 is saying is spelled out well in the Amplified Bible:
4Give not [unnecessary] sleep to your eyes, nor slumber to your eyelids;
Unnecessary sleep means more than you need to be healthy, vibrant and useful to the Kingdom of God! You KNOW if that's you or not! Don't be lazy about the things of God! If you can only be diligent about one thing, make that one thing the Word of God! Doing that will get you in position to be able to be diligent in every area of your life! AMEN!
John 16:7-11:
6But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [taken complete possession of them]. 7However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. 8And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment: 9About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere to Me]; 10About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no longer; 11About judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him.
Jesus is telling His disciples, who are very sad in hearing that He is leaving them, why it is to their benefit (and ours!) that He must leave them. I remember as a little girl thinking how awful it was that those men killed Jesus. I thought that because He was God, if they hadn't crucified Him, then He would still be alive and I could see Him! When I grew older and realized I was a sinner who needed a Saviour, I realized how silly those thoughts had been! If Jesus hadn't died, then I could never be born again! Thank You, Jesus, for dying my death for me, so that I can now live in YOUR LIFE! AMEN! The Holy Spirit is the One who draws all people to Jesus when a believer shares the Gospel! (John 12:32) Then Jesus goes on to say in verses 12-15:
12I have still many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them or to take them upon you or to grasp them now. 13But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. 14He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you. 15Everything that the Father has is Mine. That is what I meant when I said that He [the Spirit] will take the things that are Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.
The Holy Spirit will teach us the Word of God and lead, guide and direct us as we allow Him to! He is all-knowing, all-powerful, all seeing and it would be to our GREAT benefit to spend intimate time DAILY fellowshipping with Him!
In 1 Chronicles 8-10 we see more of the genealogies of the people of Israel. When we read those every year, we may be tempted to skip over them or just sort of skim the names. The awesome thing to know, though, is that God DOES NOT! He knows every name and how many hairs have ever been on every head! It is important to Him to spell this all out in great detail and by doing so, He shows us just how meticulous He is about OUR lives! Realize that every name that is named in these books is someone created by God with specific and unique personality, gifts, talents, dreams, goals and callings! Realizing this will help us to see the people around us in a different light! Remember 2 Peter 3:9:
9The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance.
THAT is the heart of our God! THAT is the reason behind the unique calling on YOUR life! Find it out, commit totally and completely to it and you will know success and fulfillment that you never dreamed of! AMEN!
Shalom in Him!
