You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and your giving through us will produce thanksgiving to God. For thus says the Lord; “Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, let not the mighty man glory in his might, nor let the rich man glory in his riches. But, let him who glories, glory in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord, exercising loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth, for in these I delight, says the Lord.” Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Hear my son, and receive my saying, and the years of your life will be many. I have taught you in the way of wisdom; I have led you in the right paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hindered, and when you run, you will not stumble. Take firm hold of instructions, do not let go. Keep her, for she is your life. Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it. Turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. Proverbs 4:10-17

The hand of the Lord has done this! How many times have you been able to look back on your situation and say, “The hand of the Lord has done this?”  If only we would learn to trust God more, we would enjoy more of his sorrow-free blessings. I could look back at my life before and after God saved me, and I now know the difference between God’s blessings and the enemy’s enticements. God has opened doors for me that all I had to do was walk through. God has prepared tables before me, that all I had to do was sit down and eat. God has caused my enemies to become my footstool. God has removed stumbling blocks from my pathway where before I could not even get around them; and I could now say with confidence that the hand of the Lord has done this, that the blessings of the Lord makes one rich, and he adds no sorrow with it. Praise the Lord!

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Certainly not! Because we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, and gave himself for us. And if God is for us, who can be against us, what will we allow to separate us from that love? As it is written, for Your sake we are killed all day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, not principalities, nor things present, nor things to come,  nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus. For we understand fully, that, God will cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him, to those who are called according to His purpose. That is His great love towards us. Give God a praise!

Lord, teach us to walk by faith, and not by sight. Help us to understand how important it is to fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen, is eternal. Lord, Your Word reminds all of us who are of the household of faith, that we are not of those who shrank back and were destroyed, but of those who have faith that will preserve our souls. Lord, for those things that we have asked faithfully and are in waiting, helps us to be thankful for those things that you have already given us.

How many times have we been faced with situations, where we were sure that we would not have been able to survive? How many times have we been under attack innocently, but the forces against us were stronger that we were? How many times were we victims of those who set deadly traps for us, yet, we survived? And, we could now say with confidence, “If it had not been for the Lord on our side, then would the waters have overwhelmed us, and the torrent gone over us. But, blessed be the Lord! He has not given us over to be a prey for their teeth. We have escaped like a bird from the snare of the fowler, the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the Name of the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.” Thank you, Lord!

“We have a strong deliverer, we’ll trust His mighty arm, not all the hosts of darkness, His chosen ones can harm; His arm has brought salvation, defends them from above, they rest within His mercy, over shadowed by His love. O Love, that stooped from heaven, to lift us up to God, O love, that will redeem us, when through paths of sorrow trod; though yonder land of Beulah, glad harps with rapture ring, and numbers without number its boundless triumph sing. Give praise to our Redeemer, oh, magnify His grace, our everlasting portion, our sure abiding place.” Thank you, Lord!

I will sing of mercy and justice to You, O Lord, I will sing praises. I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will you come to me?  I will walk within my house with a perfect heart, I will set nothing wicked before my eyes, I hate the work of those who fall away; it shall not cling to me. A perverse heart shall depart from me, I will not know wickedness. Create in me a clean heart O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”

“The way of a guilty man is perverse, but as for the pure, his way is right. The soul of the wicked desires evil; his neighbors finds no favor in his eyes. The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination, how much more when he brings it with wicked intentions. Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord, understand all. When the righteous rejoice, there is great glory, but when the wicked arise, men hide themselves. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity. Better is the poor who walks with integrity, than one who is rich and perverse in his ways.”

Do not let your adornment be merely outward – arranging  the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel; rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in  the sight of God. 1 Peter 3:3-4