Proverbs 9:15 [ESV] Calling to those who pass by, who are going straight on their way. (see 2Thess 3:5)
As a younger man I was susceptible to this voice. I thought they knew more than me, they seemed to have found happiness in their abandonment and self-serving choices, and as long as I emulated them I fitted in and was accepted. And, I wanted to be accepted, to fit in, to feel part of something. And so I did, I did fit in, and was accepted, and was part of something – a community of like-minded people.
Yet, there was still an emptiness at my core, as sense that there must be a greater purpose than self-satisfaction and self-enlargement. Sport was good, holidays were great, community was so important, work was meaningful and satisfying, friends were fun, and life was full – yet still, this emptiness sounded a feint alarm constantly in my inner ears.
It was when standing alone outside my tiny whitewashed cottage on a bleak winter day, grey clouds hiding the mountaintops and the sun, and a cold restless wind pulling at everything it could find to pull at, including me. I knew I was lost, the alarm was louder than it had ever been, and a crisis loomed immediately.
It was there, in my running shorts, shivering, and in tears, that Jesus wrapped his arms around me, and told me there was another way.
KNOWLEDGE
There is a power at work that is looking constantly to distract us from the work in hand, to cause us to step aside, even for a moment, its constantly calling us, promising us that happiness and contentment are ours for the taking. This voice is deceptive, it is weighted to deceive, to persuade, and to influence those who can be influenced. It is constant, without let up, it is loud enough to be heard in the business, and it seems to come from a place of authority and safety.
UNDERSTANDING
Let’s pick one word from this verse to look closer at and see if that can help us gain a deeper insight into how God would love us to live?
The word used for “straight” here in Hebrew is pronounced as “yasar” and means – to do good; do right; be straight; to make straight; make smooth, and straightening out a crooked object.
In the LXXX the word used is κατευθύνοντας [kateuthunontas] – “the ones going straight”.
In the New testament we see the word κατευθύνω [kateuthuno] – “to direct or guide” it appears three times, such as in 2 Thess 3:5 – “may the Lord direct your [κατευθύναι – kateuthunai – to make straight] hearts to the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ”
WISDOM – I can choose today what I want to give my attention and my understanding to.
STRENGTHS THOUGHT: Communication as a Gallup Strength can bring attention to important messages. Be careful not to dominate the conversation, and not to carry the wrong messages.
Allan’s Unauthorised Version – summoning and calling to the passers who are doing right and well in their conduct on the road of life.
Calling to – summoning, inviting and calling
those who pass by – to the passers
who are going straight – who are doing right and well
on their way – in their conduct on the road of life
PRAYER: Father, thank you for today. Help me to know which voices I should be listening to, and to tune in to those voices each day.
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