Daily Devotional
Don’t Expect a Proverb to be a Promise
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”
Proverbs 22:6
May 15, 2020
Ponder This
Some parents have almost put themselves in an early grave because they have a wayward child. Someone has taken this proverb and beaten them over the head with it.
Friend, this verse is a proverb. If you read the book of Proverbs and try to turn proverbs into promises, you’ll lose your faith. A proverb is a proverb. A promise is a promise. A precept is a precept. A parable is a parable. A prophecy is a prophecy. You have to be careful.
Some proverbs tell you the way to be wealthy. Does that mean everyone who follows one of these proverbs is automatically going to be wealthy? A proverb is a general principle that when generally applied will bring a general result.
Practice This
Instead of grabbing Proverbs as promises, ask God for discernment. He desires us to “rightly divide the word of truth,” not use it as a club to beat up fellow believers. “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
For Your Gift to the Ministry
In the Beginning God...
What If the Answers You’ve Been Searching for Were There From the Beginning?
Discover unchanging truth for a changing world—and find clarity, purpose, and hope in God’s Word.
We live in a world where truth feels uncertain and right and wrong seem to shift with the times. But God has not left us without answers. In In the Beginning God…, you’ll be guided back to the foundation—Genesis—where timeless truth speaks clearly into today’s deepest questions.
Drawn from trusted biblical teaching, this powerful resource helps you understand who you are, why you’re here, and how to live with confidence in a culture searching for direction.
