Looking Ahead

(View Daily Bread)

Proverbs 24:13-20 (NIV)
13 Eat honey, my son, for it is good;
honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.
14 Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul;
if you find it, there is a future hope for you,
and your hope will not be cut off.

15 Do not lie in wait like an outlaw against a righteous man's house,
do not raid his dwelling place;
16 for though a righteous man falls seven times, he rises again,
but the wicked are brought down by calamity.

17 Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice,
18 or the Lord will see and disapprove
and turn his wrath away from him.

19 Do not fret because of evil men
or be envious of the wicked,
20 for the evil man has no future hope,
and the lamp of the wicked will be snuffed out.

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Lord Jesus I'm most thankful for today's encouraging message. I've fallen many times, too many to remember each in details, but I’m sure with each fall, I gained new knowledge either about my own character, or about how to avoid similar pitfalls or handle similar situations in the future.

Probably the best way to learn who we truly are and who we will become is through failure. What is our reaction when things do not go our way? How do you handle matters when they are irreversible? Do you stand bravely and face the music for something wrong you have done?

For all the past mistakes that I've made, I have the encouragement today not to look back at them anymore for You Lord have already forgiven me. What the need to hold on to them and reproach myself? The more I look back, the more I dwell in them, and the more despair I will become. No Lord, that's not what who I intend myself to be, or what I intend myself to do.

Father God, I'm thankful for each valuable lesson that You have planned for me so that I may learn more. Whether they were successes or failures, I’m thankful for them. I know You will always be around to share with me my joys and problems, and ready to celebrate or pick me up again. You are always here with me. Thank You Father God. Thank You Lord Jesus.