Favor comes from this!

While it is true that Joseph went through great difficulty in his life, wherever he landed, he ultimately prospered. When he was sold into slavery, Potiphar saw the wisdom of God within Joseph, and eventually promoted him to be in charge of his entire household. When Joseph landed in prison although he was innocent, he was eventually promoted to be in charge of all the prisoners and everything that was done within the prison. We know that eventually his wisdom brought him before Pharaoh. When Pharaoh heard his good understanding and wisdom, he promoted him to be the second in command of all of Egypt. Proverbs 13:15  says: “Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.” Good understanding comes from daily meditation on God’s word, time with God in prayer, consistent study and preparation in the field where you work, or the business you own. Also, spending time with quality mentors who have great depth of understanding and experience in the field where you desire to work in. Acquiring this level of good understanding takes time and ongoing work, but the results will be worthy of the investment. Question: when you open your mouth and people hear what you have to say, are they uplifted and enlightened, or do they quickly run out the door to avoid any further conversation with you? Good understanding will bring you favor with others, but ignorant conversation and excuses will bring you nothing but poverty and unfulfilled dreams.

Proverbs 13:15 “Good understanding gains favor, But the way of the unfaithful is hard.”

An ox taught me this!

I am very intrigued with Proverbs 14:4. It says  “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox. I’ve been to areas where these animals live, eat and drink. Let me tell you, those areas have pretty pungent smells, odors, and various types of debris. However, without these animals, much of the farming that blesses the community would not take place. The oxen are hard working animals that bring much production, so even though their trough and barns might smell a bit, I still welcome and appreciate these precious animals. In the same way, if there is no hard work, no risks, no attempts at doing something great for your community, there would be no failures, no problems and no issues. Everything would be quiet and “safe.” But there would also be no production, no increase, no prosperity. Give me the chance to work hard, to make mistakes, to fail and try again, even if I make a mistake and mess up. I’ll take the mess, in the hopes that I could do something significant that will bring great glory to God and benefit to humanity. Choose increase over the “safety” of doing nothing. In actuality, there is nothing safe or prosperous in a “clean trough.”

Proverbs 14:4. It says  “Where no oxen are, the trough is clean; but much increase comes by the strength of an ox