Proverbs Chapter 3: Verses 25-28 (NIV-UK)
Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the Lord will be at your side
and will keep your foot from being snared.
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
when it is in your power to act.
Do not say to your neighbour,
‘Come back tomorrow and I’ll give it to you’–
when you already have it with you.
James Chapter 2: Verses 14-17 (NIV-UK)
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
When things are sprung upon us unexpectedly, this proverb of Solomon’s reminds us that God will be with us to help us through. Solomon doesn’t say we won’t experience such circumstances, he seeks to remind us that we are not alone when we go through them. But he also counsels us that we also need to take some responsibility to help others when it is within our power to do so. We shouldn’t always expect someone else to intervene, or pray to God to send someone else to help. James, the brother of Jesus reminds us that faith and deeds should go hand in hand in our Christian life. We need to exercise faith and trust in God, but we also need to show love in action, sometimes through very practical means. After all, when people were hungry Jesus fed them did He not?
Dear Lord,
Thank You for reminding me that as much as You love and care for me, I also need to love and care for others as much as I love myself. Help me to do so whenever it is in my power. I ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen.