Reading your Bible for today July 30

July 30: Proverbs 24:27

KJV Key Verse: Proverbs 24:27
27 Prepare thy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house.

Devotion:
If you wanted to build a house on a plot of land, would you design your house and then start building, or would you make sure the land was actually suitable to build your house on before you started? I would like to think that I would study the land first to make sure that everything was OK before digging in... But, far too many times we plunge in before we think and end up with a sub-standard product at the end – rather like building a house which then begins to suffer from drastic subsidence!

Why then should we treat our family life or spiritual life any differently? Why should we not make sure all the ground work in done first so we know we will not falter later in life? Probably because it is far easier just to keep going and worry about the consequences later on! Far too often we find people starting a family before they have made sure they have enough money, time and commitment to carry that family through to the end. We find churches which build themselves up on enjoyment rather than on God's Word. People come along to enjoy the church activity more than to come and learn what God has to say in their lives. They put enjoyment ahead of God.

There are always going to be set-backs in life (we read about so many natural disasters in the news) which will make you think God has deserted you. But if you have made sure that your faith is built upon God's Word, upon Christ, upon faith, then you will find the inner strength to get through the most awful experiences and trials in your life... because you have a firm foundation upon which you can always rely!

Making sure we build up the firm foundation before dropping everything and plunging in will ensure that we never have to flounder when the going gets tough!

Points to Ponder:
Do you go through difficult patches in your life?

Do you call upon God's strength like He has told you to?