The king begins today by speaking of the value of discipline and then he tells us that nothing can hinder the plans of God. God has made many precious promises to those who love Him, and He will fulfill every one of them.
"Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death." (Proverbs 19:18) Solomon has told us several times that the person who loves himself will love knowledge. Here we see that the person who loves his children will instruct his children and correct them when it's needed. Children are only under their parents' influence for a limited number of years. The time to begin godly instruction is while they are young. My mother did this for me. There were some years when I wandered from the Lord, but her instruction never left my heart. My conscience bothered me because I knew I was living wrong, and eventually I had to return to the Lord.
"A hot-tempered person must pay the penalty; rescue them, and you will have to do it again." (Proverbs 19:19) It's often best to allow people to have to endure the consequences of their actions. If we keep rescuing them, they will never learn to take responsibility for themselves.
"Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise." (Proverbs 19:20) I want to be counted wise, don't you? We certainly don't want to be counted among the foolish, among the ones who never seem to learn from mistakes. All of us will make mistakes as long as we live in mortal human bodies, but if we are wise we will keep learning and growing in the Lord. We will repent and move on.
"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails." (Proverbs 19:21) God's plans for mankind will not be thwarted by anyone or anything. Even before He created the world He had a plan in place for our salvation, which is why Jesus Christ is called "the Lamb who was slain from the creation of the world". (Revelation 13:8) The Son of God planned to die for us long before Adam ever sinned, indeed before Adam ever drew his first breath. Nothing could keep the Lamb of God from giving Himself for us. Many times Satan tried to wipe out the Messianic line from which Christ would come, but he was not successful, because no scheme against the Lord will succeed. Likewise, nothing will ever negate any promise of God. Nothing will ever hinder the plans He has for the new heavens and the new earth, for the peace that will reign under King Jesus, or for the eternal life that we have in our Savior.
We will conclude today with a passage from the book of Revelation. The prophecies from that book are "trustworthy and true". (Revelation 22:6) The earth will be restored to an Eden-like state and the Lord Jesus Christ will reign over it forever. All who have loved Him and believed in Him will enjoy all the wonderful things He has in store for His faithful ones. The promises of God are certain and secure; there isn't anyone or anything who can stop Him from fulfilling His word. "And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, 'Look! God's dwelling place is now among the people, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and will be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' He who was seated on the throne said, 'I am making everything new!' Then He said, 'Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'" (Revelation 21:3-5) A day is coming in which all things will be fulfilled. We can count on it. God will never break His promises to us.
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