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Daily Devotion: Proverbs 21:1-3

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Proverbs 21:1-3    "The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will.  (2)  Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth the hearts.  (3)  To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice."

Solomon states a fact in these verses that we often are prone to overlook. It's simple and straightforward: "God is in control." He will always have the final say and His determinations will always be correct. He has the ability to turn the heart of the king (leader) in any direction that He chooses. That is true concerning all of us. Our hearts are in His hands. I'm thankful for that. There are times He seems to allow us to make wrong decisions. We saw back in chapters 14 and 16, "There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death."  Lessons are to be learned from that to bring us to the place where our ways are in agreement with Him.  If we so choose, we can find justification (in our own eyes) for everything; but the counsel of the Lord is that which is true. Again, we can try to justify our actions, but God looks beyond the actions into our hearts. What is our motivation? In God's eyes, our motivation should be to make good choices and do what is right. This lesson is to the point today, but it seems to be a difficult one to follow at times. "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 6:8)

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