Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

— Philippians 4:8

What is of better report than the glorious splendor of His majesty, and His innumerable wondrous works? In meditating on Him, on who He is and all that He’s done, He promises to keep us in perfect peace! What grace! For the multitudes of anxieties within, He offers His words of comfort for the delight of our soul.

Let us think on Him.

Let us abide in His word.

The mind so desperately needs to be bolstered—strengthened, built up, fortified against all the evil that rears against it. Let us always endeavor to set our minds on things above, where Christ is; this Christ who made Himself nothing and has been exalted above everything. For in hearing His word our faith is strengthened, and faith is as a shield which can quench every fiery dart of the wicked one. Let our mind then be strengthened as it finds its rest in the hope of His great unfailing grace which is ours today, tomorrow, and forever!

(Psalms 145:5; Isaiah 26:3; Psalms 94:19; Colossians 3:2; Philippians 2:7-9; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 6:16; 1 Peter 1:13)

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All flesh is grass and all of our fleeting loveliness is like flowers. All of us, along with this earth, are going to fade away.

“The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever.”

—Isaiah 40:8

In a career, knowing that you are leaving your job soon typically leads to “short-timer’s syndrome”. Meetings that seemed so necessary 6 months ago now seem a little more optional. Deadlines don’t have the same bite. Breaks get longer and longer as work-ethic decreases the closer you get to your last day.

But that’s not how it ought to be for us. We know we’re short for this earth, but our eternal mindset doesn’t lead us to treating our time here as insignificant or useless. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

“We know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3).

Knowing full well that the grass here withers, the flower fades, and that the Word of the Lord stands forever—knowing that when we see Him we will be like Him—we place our hope in Him and endeavor to live our lives accordingly, standing fast in the Lord, increasing in love, in purity, and growing in the grace of our Lord Jesus.

“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

“Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved” (Philippians 3:20 - 4:1).

And I set my heart to know wisdom and to know madness and folly. I perceived that this also is grasping for the wind.

For in much wisdom is much grief,
And he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.

—Ecclesiastes 1:17-18

The wisdom that Solomon had been given was a gracious gift, it was not earned. It was a gift of God to and not at all a result of striving for it. Yet at some point in his life, it seems Solomon must have turned to striving instead of trusting.

Striving for wisdom in our own efforts is an endeavor that inevitably ends in sorrow.

While we certainly ought to apply ourselves to wisdom, turning it into a striving in our own strength will lead to vexation—an aimless grasping for wind. True wisdom cannot be gained apart from Christ, and without Christ there is only eternal grief, sorrow, and emptiness.

Let us return to the humility of Solomon’s early prayer: “I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in” (1 Kings 3:7). True wisdom is found in that kind of childlike faith that trusts in God and God alone.

But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption— that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the LORD.” (1 Corinthians 1:30-31)

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All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
But the LORD weighs the spirits.

—Proverbs 16:2

We are not justified by our own opinions of ourselves. Neither are we condemned by them. All judgment is the Lord’s, and all justification comes only through Jesus Christ. Knowing our position before Him and in Him, having placed our confidence in Christ, let us then walk in a fitting manner.

“I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 4:4)

“You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15)

“All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3:23-24)

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight. And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (1 John 3:18-23)

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Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who spoke with His mouth to my father David, and with His hand has fulfilled it

—1 Kings 8:15

In a world filled with disappointment and broken promises, we can always count on the Lord to do all that He has promised. 

“God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (Numbers 23:19)

There is no question in His ability. For He is “able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”

There is no question in His willingness. For it is our “Father’s good pleasure to give [us] the kingdom” and “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

There is no question in His faithfulness. For even “if we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”

Being convinced by His character, by His track record and goodness, you can “rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” because “He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”

Ephesians 3:20; Luke 12:32; Romans 8:32; 2 Timothy 2:13; 1 Peter 1:13; Philippians 1:6

“The hope of the righteous will be gladness,
But the expectation of the wicked will perish.”

—Proverbs 10:28

There is a hope, a desire, a solid and firm expectation that those made righteous in Christ have that will culminate in everlasting joy. But it’s not going to be fulfilled on this earth. It is still future tense.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but when the desire comes, it is a tree of life.

Our hearts can become sick, despondent, anxious, troubled when our hopes are not fulfilled. But when hope is realized, when our innermost desires finally come to fruition, there is renewal, strength, nourishment, protection, true and lasting life. 

If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the most pitiable.

It is apparent that the desires of this life will never provide our true, deepest longing.

What do I wait for? My hope is in You. For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

The hope that we have is in the Lord. Our hope is the Lord. And for now, we wait in the "already, but not yet"; that is, He has saved us in this hope, and this hope is absolutely certain, but we do not fully see it yet. We wait eagerly. 

Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

So we set our minds on things above, not on things here. We recognize the troubles, the heartaches, the trials and challenges, but we look beyond them to the sure grace that is coming in Christ—grace that we already have, but grace that we are still to receive when we see Him face to face.

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Proverbs 13:12; 1 Corinthians 15:19; Psalm 39:7; Galatians 5:5; Romans 8:24-25; 1 Peter 1:13; 1 Corinthians 13:12; 1 John 3:3;

Then he said to Him, “If Your Presence does not go with us, do not bring us up from here.”

–Exodus 33:15

Help us Lord, to be aware of Your presence, to desire above all things to be where you are, as is Your desire for us.

[Hebrews 13:5, John 17:24]

Knowing there is nowhere we can go to get away from You, help us not to hide from You. Open our eyes to the fullness of joy that it is to be in Your presence, and give us the desire and ability to abide there always. To seek to be where You are. To follow hard after You.

[Psalm 139:7, 16:11, 63:8; John 15:4]

When joy inevitably wanes, help us to pour out our hearts completely to You. Restore to us the joy of our salvation. Be to us a Rock to which we can continually come.

[Psalm 62:8, 51:12, 71:3]

Lord, Your nearness is our good. We have no good apart from You. To draw near to You is our need, and we need Your help both to will and to do as is Your good pleasure. We trust in You wholly and firmly to bring this to pass, for You are faithful.

[Psalm 73:28, 16:1; Philippians 2:13, 1 Thessalonians 5:24]

You died to make us able to enter Your presence without fear and without shame. Let us come to You gladly and in earnest. Let us come always and only in the precious and holy name of Jesus.

[Hebrews 10:20, 1 John 4:18, Hebrews 10:22]

Amen

Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits, The God of our salvation!

—Psalms 68:19

The troubles of the day are sufficient, even more so are its blessings! Blessings from the God who knows our needs before we ask.

Blessings with no strings attached.

“The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, and He adds no sorrow with it” (Proverbs 10:22).

He adds no sorrow with the load of benefits He gives, we do that well enough on our own! We war, we fight, we lust and covet and cannot obtain.

How foolish we are not to be content with our daily load, the benefits of the God of our Salvation!

Matthew 6:8, 34, James 4:1-2

And God gave Solomon wisdom and exceedingly great understanding, and largeness of heart like the sand on the seashore.

–1 Kings 4:29

Solomon’s wisdom was no doubt amazing. So amazing, the Scriptures tell us that people from every nation came to hear him. But this passage strikes me, as it gives reminder that he didn’t only have wisdom, but he also had a big heart.

This heart of his was seen clearly when he first asked for wisdom from the Lord, not for the sake of his own gain, but for the sake of his people.

It makes me question my own desire for wisdom. Is it for my gain that I want it? For praise from others? For the ability to live shrewdly and avoid being taken advantage of?

May the Lord give each of us such largeness of heart—a vehement desire for wisdom, and that, genuinely for the sake of His people. For godly, fruitful wisdom is a bighearted wisdom.

“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace” (James 3:13-18).

You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.

—Psalms 119:114

The protection we have from God is more powerful, more thorough, more complete than we could ever imagine. The war we are in, the darts that are thrown at us: more ruthless, more cunning, more dangerous than we even realize.

Perhaps we think it’d be safer if we were altogether removed from the battle, but in His wisdom, the Lord has instead prayed for us to stay, and be protected within it.

I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one (John 17:15).

The Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one (2 Thessalonians 3:3).

Stand therefore...taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one (Ephesians 6:14, 16).

I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was, all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down. When I saw it, I considered it well; I looked on it and received instruction:

A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest; so shall your poverty come like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.

—Proverbs 24:30-34

The principle of neglect is universal: if you stop paying attention to the lawn, the weeds are going to take control. If you don’t change the oil in your truck, eventually the engine will seize. If you don’t get the moss off the roof, the shingles are going to rot. Stop exercising, and your body is going to change.

You might be able to tell that I’m speaking from experience.

But I believe the Proverbs are much more than practical advice. O, they are that! But knowing the inevitable result of neglect in physical things, how much more in spiritual?

This is why Paul urged Timothy so enthusiastically:

“Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:13-16).

Give attention to the Scriptures! Don’t neglect the gift you’ve been given! Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine! Continue in the things you ought to be doing as a faithful servant of the Lord.

Similarly, the author of Hebrews warned us all to give earnest heed to the salvation that has been made known to us through the preaching of the Gospel:

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation…?” (Hebrews 2:1-3).

In spiritual matters, in things pertaining to the Word of Life, we cannot afford to be lazy. We mustn’t be asleep. 

“And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:11-14).

Of course, this call to wakeful, attentive living does not preclude the diligence with which we must enter into His rest…

Hear, my son, and be wise; and guide your heart in the way.

—Proverbs 23:19

We are so often told to follow our heart, and it can be very tempting to do so. But the Lord warns us, “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked”. 

It is not following our heart that will lead us in the right way, we must be the ones to guide it.

“When our heart condemns us”, we need to remind it, “God is greater than our heart”.

When “anxiety in the heart weigh us down”, we ought to lead it to a “good word [that will] make it glad”.

When the “cares of our heart are many”, we would be wise to “delight our soul in His comfort”.

When the “heart is overwhelmed”, we must plea for the Lord to “lead it to the Rock that is higher than I”!

(Jeremiah 17:9, 1 John 3:20; Proverbs 12:25; Psalm 94:19; Psalm 61:2)

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

—Matthew 11:28-30

Life doesn’t often give us opportunity for rest. But Jesus offered it any time, all the time. It’s not just the “kick your feet up and relax” kind of rest, though that sure can be nice sometimes. But when life isn’t giving us that kind of rest, Jesus’ promise of rest still stands. Rest for our souls.

“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His” (Hebrews 4:9-10).

We don’t work to be right with God anymore. We rest in Him. We can trust in Him and in Him alone who has given us the right, the privilege, the command to come to Him boldly at any time.

“Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:14-16).

We must stay rooted in Him. Immovable. Stable. Strong. “Strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”

Built up in faith. Always growing by “holding fast to the Head, from whom all the body, nourished and knit together by joints and ligaments, grows with the increase that is from God.”

Abounding in thanksgiving, “for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

It is honorable for a man to stop striving, since any fool can start a quarrel.

Proverbs 20:3

Some might consider a person who backs away from confrontation a coward. The Proverbs say he is worthy of honor. To back away may actually be the brave thing to do. 

Instead of striving with each other, let us strive to be of the same mind as the Sinless One who, “when he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly”.

Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.

Jeremiah 13:23

The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. (Matthew 26:41)

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (Galatians 5:17)

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. (Romans 7:18)

For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:19-20)

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. (2 Corinthians 5:17)

I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter

Jeremiah 11:19

Docility, meekness, gentleness ought to be one of the defining characteristic of a Spirit-filled Christian.

A gentleness tempered on the acute awareness that the Lord is near. “Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand” (Philippians 4:5).

Not a pretend gentleness we eek out in our own effort—“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (Galatians 5:22)

Jeremiah had been given so much revelation by the Lord. We too, we have the entire Scripture; even more so, the veil taken away in Christ, the Holy Spirit to teach, and we glory in knowing the one true and living God.

But let us hold the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience, docile, gentle, ever aware of our weakness. We are nothing more than broken vessels. 

“Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Corinthians 8:1-4).

So with such knowledge as we have let us be gentle like Jeremiah, knowing that it is not at all about us but all about the Lord.

For “A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all” (2 Timothy 2:24).

For You will light my lamp; the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness

Psalms 18:28

We have been called out of darkness into His marvelous light. The darkness in us, completely overwhelmed and illuminated by the light of Christ.

Yet a dimness remains. Seasons in the valley of the shadow of death. Dark times. Hard times.

But good news: the night, the darkness, it is as light to Him. And He is not afraid to be there with you.

But these dark times we experience—they must be differentiated from the darkness from which our souls have been delivered. That ultimate deliverance from darkness, it is not a feeling, but an eternal state. Whether or not you feel it, whether or not your circumstances appear to reflect it, if you have received Him be faith, you are delivered from the power of darkness. The darkness has no power over you because of Him.

It is He who has done this work, who has commanded His light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to the give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. This treasure, this knowledge, this light we have, resides is in broken, weak, earthen vessels so that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.

(1Peter 2:9; John 1:5; 1 Corinthians 13:12; Psalm 23:4; Psalm 139:12; Colossians 1:13; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7)

I will love you, O Lord, my strength.

Psalm 18:1

We are told to “love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, with all our strength”.

While this is super simple, it is extremely difficult.

We are weak. Extremely weak.

Yet that weak love, that is exactly what the Lord is asking for. With all the strength you have. He knows it’s infinitesimal. He wants it anyway.

“I will love You, O Lord, my strength!”

We know we are weak, but in the Lord is everlasting strength.

He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.

So we pray daily that we may we be “strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man” (not through our own effort but through His Spirit), “so that we may be able to comprehend the width, and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge”.

For in knowing His love, we will grow in our love for Him.

“We love Him because He first loved us”.

(Mark 12:30; Psalm 6:2; Isaiah 26:4; Isaiah 40:29; Ephesians 3:16-19; 1 John 4:19)