You a freshly painted, shiny-signed storehouse?

To scorn wisdom is to cut short your days.  How many of us really want to cut our days short?  Most of us actually hope we will find some way to add another hour to the day, day to the week, or years to our lives!  We just don’t have the time to get everything done we hoped to accomplish.  We can become so distracted by the things which promise us gain, influence, status, or value in life that we miss the true things that will.  The promise of God is that he will not let the godly starve - it doesn't say if the godly work themselves to the bone, tire themselves out in the efforts they exert, etc.  It simply says God won't starve the honest soul.  He even will satisfy the cravings of our soul - the fulfillment of those cravings may be with something quite different than we'd pursue on our own.  Left to our own devices, we'd likely pursue the stuff which falls "just short" of what God intends for us. They are "good", but they aren't "great".

God won’t starve an honest soul, but he frustrates the appetites of the wicked. (Proverbs 10:3 MSG)

Did you realize an "appetite" is anything for which you have developed a fondness?  Now, read that passage again - God won't fulfill everything we are "fond" of especially when the "fondness" we have will harm us!  The things we "like" may not always be the things which will produce the best results in our lives.  For example, I am fond of spending the evening reclining on the sofa, but the meals I'd choose if I came right home and just plopped down on the couch would be less nourishing and contribute to an unhealthy lifestyle.  I would find myself indulging in far too much take out or delivery.  So, before I do something I am fond of, I run it through my "Good" or "Best" filter.  It may be good, but it may not always be best.  When I "filter" my choices this way, I find I make a whole lot more meals from scratch, enjoy them with mom, clean up the kitchen, THEN veg a little on the couch!  Maybe I could add a walk in after the meal and I would move from "good" to "great" in my choices, but I am getting there!

One thing for sure, we need to learn to take advantage of our "window of opportunity".  There is far too little time spent focusing on the opportunities right in front of us.  We tend to focus on the stuff in the "future", totally missing what exists right in front of us.  Maybe this is why the writer of this proverb also penned these words:  Make hay while the sun shines—that’s smart; go fishing during harvest—that’s stupid. (vs. 5 MSG)  A wise person works while it is the season to work - knowing the harvest needs to be brought in.  The season can pass, opportunities brush right past you, if you are not paying attention.  The opportunities which matter most are usually those which don't scream the loudest, cost us a little more of ourselves, and seem a little bit less likely to provide us the "immediate" reward.  The harvest takes time - but knowing what to plant, when it is the season to harvest, and what will fill our storehouses with the best stuff is not a skill possessed by the unwise!

If you have ever been around a fool for a while, you will notice one thing which seems to be the "tell-tale" sign of their foolishness - their need to "cover up" their bumbling.  The fool chooses to fish - hoping no one will notice the storehouse has no real "reserve" in it because he neither invested the time, nor the energy in the harvest.  So, he paints the storehouse, even trims it with a shiny sign indicating it is the storehouse, but on the inside - nothing! The wise embrace instruction - allowing it to affect the things they develop a fondness toward.  The fool resists instruction - allowing their own appetites to allow them to miss opportunities to be filled to overflowing.  People of integrity have a firm footing - they have chosen the best path.  The fool slips and slides their way through life because they have no soundness of footing. 

As we return to our passage, we see it is God who is frustrating the appetites of the fool.  Does this surprise you?  Wouldn't you think the fool is responsible for the frustration he feels?  He is in every sense of the word, but we need to see the love of our heavenly Father in actually intervening to "frustrate" the fool's appetites - the things which he develops an affinity toward, but which will leave him empty and wanting in times of leanness.  By frustrating the fool's appetites, he is seeking to expose the emptiness of his freshly painted, shiny signed storehouse!  He doesn't do this to demean the fool, but to redeem him!  If God can intervene in the midst of our foolishness, he can save us from a whole lot of things we will just bumble through trying to cover up in the end!  

An honest soul - what does this mean?  I believe God just wants us to be transparent with him and others.  The fool has trouble with this because if he were to open the storehouse doors, everyone would see exactly how empty it is on the inside!  An honest soul doesn't keep the doors tightly shut - he may not have a "full" storehouse yet, but at least he is honest about what he has. This is all God asks of us - be honest with him and others.  Don't make excuses for your choices which might have left you lacking a little, but confess them, seek God's help to set those choices right, and allow him to begin to fill your storehouse to the max.  The wise also know there are times when the storehouse needs a good "sweeping out".  In other words, they know before harvest can be brought in, the "chaff" from the "last season" has to be swept out.  In preparing to receive, we are also revealing what it is we are focusing on receiving.  There is a clarifying of our motives which comes in preparing for the harvest God will bring when the fondness of our heart is directed toward his "infilling".  Just sayin!

Settling is never God's plan

The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we'll never settle for less.

(2 Corinthians 5:5)

What a joy it is to realize that what we experience of God today is only a taste of him - we only experience in part what one day we will experience in full.  A taste of what is ahead is often all we have to go on as we step out in our faith walk each day.  We don't know what to expect, but we do know who to expect to be alongside as we take those steps.  

When one "whets" the appetite - it is kind of like eating appetizers.  We could fill up on them, but if we did that we'd miss the good stuff just about to come around the corner!  That which "whets" our spiritual appetite is designed to make us eager, living in anticipation of what will be revealed next.  We learn to yearn when we have learned the purpose of the appetizer!

That which "whets" our appetite will direct our attention - it makes us eager, keenly aware of whatever is coming.  The Holy Spirit has the mission of giving us "tastes" of God's goodness, protection, love, etc. - in preparation for God to reveal even greater evidence of these things in our lives.  A little of heaven is in our heart - not because God only wants us to experience only limited measures of his goodness - but because he wants us to never settle for less than him.

A little bit of us wants more of what we experience of God's goodness, but a little bit of us struggles with the idea of the investment of time, energy, and attention that waiting on what God has next.  We often find that we "settle for less" when we are not willing to wait for the "best".  In God's economy, little things add up to bigger things - the least become first, the best is held for last, etc.  If God revealed all he has for us, all his glory to us at one time, we'd not be able to handle it!

What we do with our appetites determines our end result.  Responding to the right "appetites" is paramount to not "settling for less".  Later in this chapter, Paul tells us, "Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you."  Closeness with God - drawing near to him - is a response to the whetting of our appetites.  As we experience small blessings, we desire bigger blessings.  As we enjoy small glimpses of his glory, we yearn for the full revelation of his glory.  As we are entreated toward his loving arms, we envision the ecstasy of being enveloped fully in his unconditional love.

Someone once told me that we have as much of God as we want - as much of him as our appetites will allow us to consume.  It is kind of like the difference between stopping at a burger joint and sitting down to a home-cooked meal complete.  Both will "fill us up", but each produces a different sense of satisfaction.  One was quick, easy, and relatively "inexpensive" to obtain.  The other took time to procure, prepare, and participate in.  It could not be "eaten on the run" because it was not "designed" to be partaken of in that manner.  The most meaningful of God's blessings are meant to be partaken in the stillness of the moments spent with him - not on the run!

God may be whetting your appetite for more of him - designing specific revelations of his grace, mercy, and love - in order that you will not settle for the things that quickly fill you, but then leave you less than satisfied in the results they provide.  Let us learn that "settling" is never God's plan - it is in anticipating more that we learn to not "settle" for less!