Apples of Gold in Pictures of Silver

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.” –Proverbs 25:11

Somewhere in the pages of journals past, I know I have written about this verse before. It seems every time I read it in my Bible readings, God highlights it in my soul. It always shines through the pages of Scripture. 

This time, it reminds me that my heart's desire since giving my life to the Lord has been to posses His wisdom, sometimes even to my own vanity. However, it is mostly so I can know Him and understand His ways better, applying what He shows me to my life.

I think this is why I love Scripture because it is a well of God's precious wisdom and a solid foundation of truth. I have experienced His precious wisdom over and over by reading His Holy Word. I know there are many out there that stumble upon parts of Scripture—and you should know, so do I. The book of Judges, for example, has to be one of the hardest books of the Bible for me to read. The depravity of man and just how far we entertain our sinfulness is a fact that I have a hard time dealing with. But when I take a step back and gaze at the awful stories in that book and search for God's understanding or what He wants me to understand about such passages, I am pointed to the cross and the purpose of the Bible—that it points us to a merciful and loving Savior, Who took upon Himself the form of a man and sacrificed His life on our behalf to reconcile us to God.

And yet, some of His judgments can be hard to read too. Again, gazing at these parts of the Bible through the lens of God's whole counsel, we understand that if we turn to Him, He doesn't reward us according to our works and that His long-suffering leads us to a godly sorrow that brings about our repentance. He knows we are but flesh, and His mercies are new every morning.

The Bible taken as a whole is a magnificent treasure especially for those of us who are born-again because we have the guidance of the Holy Spirit in us and with us teaching us the mind of God as we read Scripture.

O friend, have you experienced this? So many “lonely” moments of my single years, for example, were spent in this Scriptural communion with God, sometimes with a pen in hand and blank pages in front of me on which I discussed with praise the treasure of truth God had settled upon my heart.

And do you want to know something I realize as I write this? God molded me where I was. He was the Master Potter directing my thinking one thought at a time. He was and is so patient with me because some truths He gave me were tainted by my sinfulness. My “disposition” toward others as I tried to communicate these truths has often been less than perfect. God didn't stop there with me though. In time and with experience He showed me a better way, a more Biblical way of handling the truths He graciously gave me. He taught me and continues to teach me how to communicate in love.

Thank you, Jesus. Thank You for all the words You have fitly spoken to me and for all the words You will fitly speak to me, so that I, too, may be an apple of gold in a picture of silver for someone else. 

Angkor Wat, Cambodia (2000)