Proverbs 13:17-25

17 A wicked messenger falls into adversity,
But a faithful envoy brings healing.
18 Poverty and shame will come to him who neglects [p]discipline,
But he who regards reproof will be honored.
19 Desire realized is sweet to the soul,
But it is an abomination to fools to turn away from evil.
20 He who walks with wise men will be wise,
But the companion of fools will suffer harm.
21 Adversity pursues sinners,
But the righteous will be rewarded with prosperity.
22 A good man leaves an inheritance to his [q]children’s children,
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.
23 Abundant food is in the fallow ground of the poor,
But [r]it is swept away by injustice.
24 He who withholds his [s]rod hates his son,
But he who loves him [t]disciplines him diligently.
25 The righteous [u]has enough to satisfy his appetite,
But the stomach of the wicked is in need.

I feel like the first verse really sets the tone here, “a faithful envoy (messenger) brings healing.” The messenger brings healing because he does what is right, not what is easy. He doesn’t shy away from difficulty but perseveres through it.

Life brings us plenty of hard challenges, and we can either shy away from it or face it head on and push through. We may very well need God’s help to make it through, but the alternative is to sit on our hands, or to run away. As Solomon aptly states, we will find (fall into) adversity anyway then: poverty, shame, suffering harm, hunger and regret.

No one wants those things, but accepting God’s challenge is not easy. It’s worth it though, if we love our children (v. 24), and our families (v. 22), and our friends (v. 20), it is worth doing the job right and doing it well. I’ll admit to being a bit of a procrastinator, and good things rarely come from that. Sometimes I don’t know what to do, or if I can even do anything at all.

But doing nothing doesn’t help anyone, and the pressure just builds and builds. Stop waiting, and start moving forward wherever God leads. You might not end up doing everything you set out to do, you might have to say “no” a few times, but get started and let God do the leading.

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