Day 17

Day 17:

Proverbs 3:13–18

3 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.

When the writer of Proverbs outlines the benefits of wisdom, he is also advertising the benefits of every other habit and discipline inspired by the Scriptures. And since the practice of being thankful is a basic characteristic of God’s people, I believe these passages that call us to wise, godly living can appropriately be applied to the issue of gratitude as well. That’s why I really like what’s implied in today’s reading. It begins and ends with a word—“blessed”—that portrays the type of person God desires and enables us to be.

Some Bible translations use a slightly different word … “happy.” For most people, happiness is tied to circumstances—to what is happening in their lives. For Christians, however, happiness or blessedness is not dependent on the weather, the stock market, or how our last haircut turned out. Real happiness—that unshakable sense of peace, contentment, and well-being—comes as we remind ourselves of the blessings we have in Christ and then respond with thankfulness.

We’ve talked about being “loud” with our thanksgiving, being vocal about what God is doing. Check to be sure your countenance is also expressing a joyful, thankful heart.

Imogene ~ I pray that I can see his blessings in everything and in turn see how blessed I am. After this I pray that I will apply this to the different situations and people in my life. When there are problems if I look for the blessing or the possibility of the blessing, it will turn your focus. I promise. When I am in the darkness I need to go to the list of the blessing that we made in day 2.