Greetings my brothers and Sisters in Christ! I pray that all is well, and that peace is with you.
As I was studying Proverbs, a certain verse stuck out at me, causing me to pause, reflect, give praise and Thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father for his mercy and discipline. This verse:
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
Proverbs 23:4 NIV
This is something I wish I was privy to back in my early twenties. I was so obsessed with doing well by the world's standards: have a house, a nice car, money in the bank, a college degree, no debt, a wife, kids, and a high paying job, oh, and I wanted to retire by 30…. Try not to laugh too hard, lol, I was very ambitious, very headstrong and driven by fear that my body would give out as told to me by my doctors before I was 21. So, I pushed myself. I worked 2 full time jobs and went to school. I took naps in my car in-between classes, had no social life, neglected my health and my relationships and my faith, but I was achieving my goals, so it was worth it, right? I had 2 houses for 25, a nice car, a good job, a fiancé, good credit money in the bank. In my eyes and in the world's eyes I was doing great. But was I really? Running on 2 to 4 hours of sleep, living off of fast food, a porn addiction for loneliness and a weed addiction for the pain. I had a string of failed relationships and barely anyone around when I did have time off and almost as quickly as I had achieved everything, I lost it all. I was so depressed and in so much pain I couldn't focus, and I lost my job. I lost my ability to drive. I totaled my car and pushed myself so hard that my body was so broken and so exhausted. I would go through episodes of severe pain and was almost bed bound. There was much more that happened but to keep things short it was through this pain that I was disciplined, that I turned back to God and learned the foolishness of trying to live this life for myself and in my own strength. The Lord has been very kind and patient with me, and I now know it is only by his grace that I achieved or accomplished anything. In the same way, it is by his grace and mercy that I did not lose everything and in fact by living and serving His will I have more than I ever could have hoped for.
So dear brothers and sisters, let my story and the Word of our LORD be a lesson.
Do not wear yourself out to get rich; do not trust your own cleverness.
Proverbs 23:4 NIV
For God is the one who gives you your skills and talents in the first place. Take it from me as someone who had to learn the hard way.
Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3 NIV
Blessings!
Pastor Dakota Swinton