Day 44: A Life of Enrichment

Reading: Proverbs 4:20-27

Life doesn't always have an instruction manual for everything, but the Bible covers the important stuff. Proverbs is a book full of words of wisdom and advice to help us have a successful life. This reading helps us in "guarding our hearts". We can guard our hearts by...

- Where we focus our thoughts: We can control our minds and how we handle situations from the inside. Having a positive outlook is a good base for this. In Philippians we are told to think about whatever is true, noble, lovely, pure, right, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy. These filters can be good when sorting our thoughts.

- What comes out of our mouths: We are told in this Proverb to put away all perverse talk and corrupt speech. One thing I found really sums it up:

- What you look at: We are warned to keep our eyes straight ahead. The eyes are the lamp of the body. What we expose ourselves to also allow those images into our hearts and minds. Guard yourself, and don't allow the temptations to overcome you.

- Where you hang out: Where you go can be a temptation within itself. If you struggle with alcohol, a bar would be a bad choice. Night clubs, friends who don't have the best influence on you, and places that tempt you to bad choices are all bad ideas.


Reading: Matthew 27:45-66

Our lives have meaning and enrichment because of what Jesus did on the cross for us. When we accept this great gift and a life that follows Christ, we have a life full of blessing. Things don't always get easier when you walk in the path of Christ, in fact they can be harder. But that faith you carry and the reliance you have in Him is what gets you through. A life in Christ and in the sacrificial love He poured out for us is a life of blessing and meaning indeed.
When Christ died for us, the curtain was torn, meaning we have full access to communication with Him. We don't need someone more holy to pray on our behalf. God has made a direct connection to Him. Our lives are full of relationship with Him because He has made a way for us. May our lives be enriched because of Him and His sacrifice for us.


Reading: Exodus 13:1-14:31

God will sometimes lead us through a path that is harder and longer to get somewhere that is actually not so far away, like He did with the Israelites. But His power shows through the trials and hardships we encounter. Exodus 14:14 says that The Lord fights for us. We may face the hard way to somewhere at times, but when God gets us there, we can stand in awe and thanksgiving of what He did for us. God shows us how to trust in Him by getting us through those hard paths. When we know He fights for us when we follow His will, our lives can carry on with great trust and hope.


Our lives are enriched, simply by saying "yes" to God. He lays out instructions for us in His Word, showing us how to make choices that give us a better, fuller life. We also have a life full of meaning and blessing because He's created that opportunity for us to have relationship with Him by taking away the separation that was between us. And when we face a path that seems impossible and hard, we can believe He will fight for us when we are indeed following His will. Let Him make your life full and beautiful.