Proverbs 26 – if you haven’t read my thoughts on the book of Proverbs yet, you’ll want to do so here. This isn’t a comprehensive look at each verse, but it is how God spoke to me through particular chapter of His Word at this particular chapter in my life. I encourage you to read the full chapter in your own Bible first so you can see how God wants to speak to you through this chapter, and so you don’t miss out on the verses I didn’t cover. I hope it can speak to you as well, and I hope you are encouraged to seek Him in His Word. And if you missed Proverbs 25, you should also check that out here.  Otherwise, on to Proverbs 26!

26:7&9 – A proverb in the mouth of a fool is as useless as a paralyzed leg. A proverb in the mouth of a fool is like a thorny branch brandished by a drunk (NLT). Prayer – God, don’t let me turn your Word into something useless because I act like a fool and use it incorrectly, or foolishly, or in the wrong timing. Teach me to love your Word and use it for good, and not as a weapon to tear others down.

26:11-12 – As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise (NLT). Verses 1-11 talk about the idiocy, and the peril, and the promise of ruin for fools. It is very easy to get caught up in all the verses about foolishness, without seeing ourselves in the verses. We think of the people who have been cruel to us, and those in our lives who have acted as fools, and it’s easy to see and point out names of people we know in each of the verses. It is easy to become haughty when we read the verses and think about how we would never do that because we are not fools. Then, the blow comes crashing home in verse 12 – There is more hope for fools than for people who think they are wise. Prayer – God, let me never think I am wise in my own eyes. Show me how I have been a fool, when I am being a fool, and when I am about to be a fool. Give me the strength to repent, to reconcile relationships I ruined, and the strength to carry on in the new identity and purpose you have called out in me. Let me never become prideful and think that I have learned everything I need to know. Teach me to always be learning. One thing is for certain, the more I do learn, the more I also learn how much I do not know. Let me be a lifelong learner of your wisdom, but never boast it as my own wisdom. May I always give glory to you for any wisdom or favor to be found in my life.

26:13 – The lazy person says, “There’s a lion in the streets! A lion is roaming loose out there!” (CJB) Prayer – God, keep me from making up excuses when instead I should be taking action, and show me when I am making up an excuse to avoid something I should do. Give me the strength to walk out the every-day purpose you have called me to – loving you and loving your people.

26:18-19 – Just as damaging as a madman shooting a deadly weapon is someone who lies to a friend and then says, “I was only joking.” (NLT) It becomes a double wound from a friend when someone does that to us – we know then, that they meant their cruel remark. It makes the remark sting that much more, and the ‘joking’ sentiment just buries the knife deeper. Prayer – God, let me never do such a cruel thing to friend, family, or someone I do not even know. Pause my thinking and my speech to prevent me from either type of remark. I don’t want to wound any of the people you so dearly love.

26:22 – Rumors are dainty morsels that sink deep into one’s heart (NLT). Even when rumors aren’t true, and often they aren’t, the knowledge of the rumor still settles in our hearts for the person the rumor targeted, permanently affecting the way we view that person from then on. Prayer – God, don’t let me be lured in by rumors. Give me the courage to confront those spreading rumors, to stop the rumor in its tracks. Let me never be a personal spreader of rumors, damaging others’ perception of those around them.

26:27 – The one who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever rolls a stone – it will come back on him (CSB). I can think of one such stone that was rolled over the entry to a tomb over 2,000 years ago – and it was most certainly rolled back over the evil one who put it there, as Jesus walked out of that grave on Resurrection Day. As we count the 50 days after Easter/Passover to celebrate Pentecost, I am struck by how everything we do always points to Jesus. We look to Jesus’ resurrection for everything – the mercy he gave us in not condemning us to death for our sin, the grace he extended us in eternal life with him in heaven, unity and inclusion into God’s family, access to God on his throne, the power of the Holy Spirit that descended on those first believer’s in the first Pentecost after his resurrection. Everything, even this proverb written thousands of years before Jesus was born, looks toward and points toward Jesus. We can’t even know the date of Pentecost, the day when God gave us his Holy Spirit, without counting each day and looking back at his sacrifice at the cross and his resurrection from the grave and triumph over death. Prayer – God, I thank you for your sacrifice and love for us. Let me always look to you in joy, in sorrow, in uncertainty, in celebration – in every moment of my life, I want to always look to you in thankfulness. I don’t want to forget that it is always, and forever has been, about you and about your love for us.

Friend, I have prayed these same prayers over you today. I pray humility for you to find where you have been foolish, and the strength to repent, reconcile your relationships with others, and continue in the path God is laying out for you. I pray God will show you how to lay all your hopes and fears and joy and grief in his hands, looking to him in thankfulness and never forgetting all that Jesus has done for us and is still doing for us.

Until next time,

– Just a girl pursuing her reflection in the mirror of God’s Word

Scripture quotations marked (CJB) are taken from the Complete Jewish Bible, Copyright © 1998 and 2016 by David H. Stern. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (CSB) are taken from the Christian Standard Bible® Copyright© 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.