If + Then = Well-Being

In this week’s equation, we are confronted with the question, “How blessed do you want your life to be?” Proverbs 3:7-8 says, “Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.” God promises healing and strength – our overall well-being – if we respect God’s Word. Respecting God’s Word means that we don’t put our faith or trust in our own wisdom, but follow His advice instead of our own. And as we do that, God promises a life of well-being – fresh vitality, a sense of being put together – even in the midst of storms, hardship, and external pressure. God can make our hearts and our lives full of health and strength.

This advice isn’t merely theoretical, though, this is moral advice. He cautions us and points us to a blessed life by instructing us to trust his word above our own – and the world’s – reasoning, especially when it comes to the moral issues we face. 

1. The first step in respecting God’s Word is to not think you know better than God. Sometimes, whether we realize it or not, we can ignore what God says and trust what we think more. What happens when we we think we know better? 
2. God’s Word preserves, protects, provides, and even prepares us. Think about a time where you took God’s advice even though you may have been apprehensive, or wanted to take your own. How can you apply that to your life this week? 
3. This equation also instructs us to make our decisions based on respect rather than reason. In essence, we have to decide whether we are going to respect God and His Word or be led by the reasonings of this world. How are we pressured to accept the world’s reasoning in our decision making, despite what God says about that type of thinking?
4. Read 1 Corinthians 6:12-13. Paul said he is “mastered by nothing.” To be mastered means to be dominated or controlled. Are there any things that you have allowed to master you that is contrary to God’s Word?
5. God gives us advice in how to deal with evil – Proverbs 3:8 says, “turn away.” Has there ever been a time where you turned away from something, and God blessed you? 
6. If we don’t turn right away from evil, a black-and-white issue to God quickly becomes gray to us. We justify and normalize the evilness, and then quickly become comfortable with it. Has this ever happened to you, or are you currently in a gray area? 
7. Read Jeremiah 6:16. The amazing grace of God can redeem us and set a new direction for our lives, one of blessing and well-being!