- Lesson 9 in the Connect360 unit “The Search for Wisdom: Words to Live By” focuses on Proverbs 15:15-17.
To be in need of anything is difficult. But we are only truly poor when our heart is lacking. Without joy, faith and love, we will feel dissatisfied even if we have acquired other great assets.
The world tells us the most successful people have an abundance of money and possessions. But honestly, it is much more valuable to be prosperous inwardly than it is to be rich outwardly.
What good does it do to have all the finest things this world has to offer if we are miserable? We can spend all our time and energy focusing on being successful according to worldly standards, only to find ourselves tired, angry and dissatisfied. But if our family is full of love, then we can be content no matter what our present circumstances may be.
Paul said: “I know how to get along with little, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12–13).
A family that knows God, and does their best to live according to his word, already hasacquired the most important thing they could ever have. When God is the foundation upon which everything else is built, our family is strong. Even if we do not have everything else we need, we can remain cheerful and united through him.
Matthew 7:24–27 says: “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell—and its collapse was great.”
God not only gives us strength to handle the hard times, but also is the only true source of a cheerful heart. Psalm 16:11 says God’s “presence is full of joy” and in his “right hand there are pleasures forever.” With God, we also find love, not just because “love is from God,” but also because “God is love” (see 1 John 4:7–8).
The world can bring happiness in wonderful circumstances, but only God can give us joy amid sorrow or peace “which surpasses all comprehension” (Philippians 4:7).
Satan is a thief who uses the lures of this world to steal our joy, kill our love, and destroy our families. But Jesus came so we could live an abundant life (John 10:10). By inviting Christ into our homes, our family can be filled with the kind of love and joy that only he can give. Romans 5:5 says, “The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
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