November 24- “Bend But Do Not BREAK”

Hello Everyone!
I trust you had a relaxing weekend that was productive as well!

Well, its November 24, so we are reading Proverbs 24 today. I am reading in the New Living Translation, 2nd edition primarily, but I also tapped into the New International versions (NIV) and the The Message (MSG) versions.

My "bold print" for today are verses 5 and 16:

5: The wise are mightier than the strong, and those with knowledge grow stronger and stronger (NLT)

16: The godly may trip seven times and will get up again. But one disaster is enough to over throw the wicked.

But, I really love how The Message version translates verse 16:

"No matter how many times they trip, God-loyal people don't stay down long; soon they get up on their feet, while the wicked end up flat on their faces."

I am linking these verses together today to touch on dealing with adversity and tough times. In my last post, I told you I am recovering from some recent tough times in my life and I said that the Word of God has been a great source of strength and comfort. These verses have been key for me in learning to deal with adversity.

I played college football, back in the day, and I played on defense. Our defensive coach always, always, I mean always told us that “we bend but do NOT break”! (I can actually hear him in my head as I type this…LOL) This meant that there would be times that opposing offenses would gain yards and score points on us, but when the time came; we would not stay down…we would dig in and find a way to win.

We did not find the way to win by “magic” however; the coaches were on the sidelines and high up in the coaching box, watching the ebbs and flows of the game and designing plays and schemes to stop where the offense was succeeding against us. Then when we came to the sidelines, after "bending a little", they pointed out our mistakes and showed us how to correct them. It was then up to us to back go out on the field with new energy and awareness and use that information to our advantage.

This is where I would like to direct your thinking as we look at these two verses…

Verse 16 said that we will "trip and fall but not stay down for long" . (I like that The Message version said "no matter how many times they fall....") I I have tripped a few more than seven, how about you?

But look at verse 5 again…the wise are mightier than the strong, and a man of knowledge grows stronger and stronger. We have been taught that knowledge is the taking in of information, and wisdom is the ability to know how that knowledge relates to our lives and how to "apply" it.

So, what’s next……..? As we read Proverbs and learn from its wise instruction...we apply our heart to learning and have it “always ready at our lips” (see previous post for suggestions on how to do that). Then, like in my football old games, we use that information to help us overcome those things that trip us -- growing stronger and stronger with each “trip”!! “We Bend – But Do Not BREAK!!” Amen?

Well, have a great day today…a productive day. I hope you read something to today that you will add to your Smart Game Plan for Life!!!

~ Coach O