Diligence

DEVOTION

PROVERBS

DILIGENCE

Prov 21:5

5 The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

NIV

This certainly would appear the idea is about making a nice some of money. The Hebrew word translated as profit has the meaning of plenteousness or abundance. This would imply this has to do with making a clear plan in our working for our income. The one who hurries into something, without thinking through how things are and what needs to happen ends up without the plenteousness or abundance. However, there are so many other scriptures, including proverbs, which indicate the plans of man are rather meaningless because it is God who orders our footsteps. There are many scriptures which talk about plans, some that a noble man makes noble plans, others about making plans, but not as the world makes plans. Let us forgo the idea of this speaking about the worldly plans of making much money because of being diligent for that is the way of the world. Solomon has already written about plans needing counsel and that counsel is from God. So could this be speaking about how we approach the word of God, the truth of God? We make plans to be diligent in our search for the truth in the word and in doing so we gain profit for our lives. When we hurry into the word, not being consistently probing into the truth, we loss out in the depth of God. We know people who make plans to read the bible through in a year, doing it year after year. Is that reading in a hurry? Does that give the Spirit time to enlighten our hearts? That is a good thing to read the word every day, to always be in the word. But not in a hurry to get through it in a set time frame. If we want the word to have profit in our lives, we need to be diligent in our searching it for applications to live by; hearing the Spirit as he speaks truth in to our hearts. It is not so much that we can quote verses, the enemy can quote verses. We know non-believers who can quote verses, out of context, but nevertheless quote them. It is about being diligent in our pursuit of God’s plan for us. If we want the abundant life, we cannot be in a hurry getting through scripture just to get through it. God has so much for us within his word, so much to enrich our lives. Let us diligently seek his plan for our lives. How many people have come to Christ and in a hurry to find the good life, have found nothing and left in poverty? The abundant life comes from a steadfast commitment to the truth of God. Why be in a hurry and lose out, when God has so much to offer the diligent?