Hey, Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible Recap. Did you discover anything good in our reading today? I bet you did. And I hope that whatever it was, you'll spend some more time thinking about it today. Because Proverbs 16:20 says, Whoever gives thought to the word will discover good. Ponder the word, dwell in it, and let it dwell in you. Be intentional about it. Wisdom is never an accident. One of the things I noticed that I want to spend more time thinking about showed up twice in Proverbs 16, and it's the idea of sweetness of speech. Verse 21 says, The wise of heart is called discern. Learning, and sweetness of speech increases persuasiveness. Verse 24 says, Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body. I don't know if you've ever eaten honeycomb or not, not the cereal, But it's amazing and super healthy. I want to speak words like that. Gracious, sweet, life-giving words. It's so easy to default to sarcasm or slander or skepticism, but I want him to transform my heart in such a way that it flows out of my mouth.

And God knows speech control and self control go hand in hand. Verse 32 points to that as well. It says, Whoever is slow to anger is better than the mighty, and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city. This proverb points out that it's more challenging to control ourselves than to win a war against others.

What?

More strength is demonstrated in acting peacefully than in acting out in anger. And we literally can't do this on our own. Self control is part of the fruit of the spirit listed in Galatians 5, which literally means it's the fruit or evidence of God, the spirit, at work in you. It's not you, it's him. Chapter 17 hits on topic we haven't seen much of yet in Proverbs: forgiveness. Verse 9 says, Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter, separates close friends. This verse not only compels people to forgive, but also compels the forgiven person to repent. If there's not repentance, forgiveness is disrupted, and in this instance, the relationship is ruined. Chapter 18 hits on something we've talked about previously. Two days ago on day 157, we We talked about the contrast between Proverbs 10:15, which says, A rich man's wealth is a strong city, and the poverty of the poor is their ruin, and Proverbs 11:28, which says, Whoever trusts in his riches will fall. We see that played out again today. Verse 10 through 11 says, The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous man runs into it and is safe.

A rich man's wealth is his strong city and like a high wall in his imagination. It appears to provide him with safety and security, but it's all in his imagination. It's an illusion. We live in a time where almost every day we see people stripped of everything they've spent their lives amassing. Wealth, power, approval, fame, all gone in a second. There's literally nothing that can't be taken from us except for God and his family. It's very humbling, and it also helps us keep our perspective on the right things. This made me think back to 1724, which says, The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. The fool chases every possible unattainable goal, but the wise have the goal of wisdom, and they know it only comes from God. Humility is another theme in chapter 18. It shows up frequently in association with wisdom. Verse 12 says, Before destruction, a man's heart is haughty, but humility comes before honor. We read a similar proverb today in 16:18, 1818, which says, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. This is where the phrase, pride goes before a fall comes from.

Humility doesn't make a lot of assumptions. Humility isn't entitled. Humility gives the benefit of the doubt. Humility shows up in our actions, but it starts in the heart. And that's where wisdom resides, too. That's why 1621 uses the phrase, wise in heart, because wisdom is related to heart capacity as much as mental capacity. Where did you see today's God shot? Mine was peppered throughout Proverbs 16, especially. In that chapter, Solomon spends a lot of time hovering over God's sovereignty as it pertains to various areas of life, what plans come to pass and what purposes things serve. For instance, here are just a few of the verses that point to that directly. The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord. The Lord has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for a day of trouble. The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. We've already seen this theme painted in broad strokes and fine lines across the pages of scripture over the past 159 days.

But Solomon has such a poetic way of summarizing it. It gives me hope. There are some days where discouragement threatens to take hold or fear taunts me, or regret knocks on my door every hour. And sometimes the only thing that comforts me is the reminder of God's sweet sovereignty, that he is active in everything, and his plans to bring about the restoration of all the things we've broken cannot be defeated. He's working out his plan for good, and he's where the joy is.

Who doesn't love a good toolkit? I know I do, but not when it comes to house renovation, more like when it comes to Bible study. So if you're like and you need some help with things, let me tell you about two tools we have for you to use alongside the Bible recap. The first tool is our Daily Study Guide. It has roughly five questions a day to help you dig into the text and learn more on your own while you're reading. These questions tend to focus more on research and study, and we've left a space for you to write in the guide itself. You'll do this on your own. The second tool is meant to be used with at least one other person, or ideally in a group setting. It's our Weekly Discussion Guide. It has about 10 questions per week, and they're totally different questions from the Daily Study Guide, but they work together perfectly. The weekly discussion questions are more reflective, and they'll help you guide your group through a conversation that will build relationships as you work through scripture together. You can even see sample pages of both options in our store at thebiblerecap.

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