Proverbs 10:24-25 "The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation."
For nearly all of time, humanity has wrestled with the question, “Why do bad things happen to good people?” This two-verse proverb answers the question, “Why do bad things happen to bad people?” And to make sure his readers understand this important principle, Solomon links to it the answer to the question, “Why do good things happen to good people?” Most would feel confident in providing an answer to these questions and most would conclude that the behavior of a person determines the outcome of that person. Most would agree that bad things happen to bad people because God is judging them for their bad behavior. Most would also agree that good things happen to good people because God is blessing them for their good behavior. While there is some truth to those widely-believed answers, that is not what Solomon is teaching in this proverb.
Solomon contrasts the FEAR of the wicked with the DESIRE of the righteous, which is very different from the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous. While the morality of two groups of people are clearly contrasted in this proverb, it is the feeling of their hearts that provides the insight. Everyone has FEARS and everyone has DESIRES. The wicked have desires and based on this proverb, they clearly have fears. The righteous have fears and based on this proverb, they clearly have desires. When contrasting these two groups of morality, Solomon concludes that the wicked will have their worst fears come to pass while the righteous will have their deepest desires granted.
Does this mean that God grants the deepest desires of our hearts as long as live righteously?
Does this mean that God brings upon us our worst fears if we live wickedly?
History, as recorded in Scripture and as seen with our own eyes, would tell us the answer to those questions is “no.” While God does punish the wicked, He does not bring upon the wicked every fear that they have. While God does bless the righteous, He does not grant the righteous every desire they have. While our behavior does directly impact our relationship with God, there is a deeper principle within this proverb. By incorporating man’s fears and desires into this proverb, Solomon is linking man’s morality with his feelings.
Our desires create our fears. If we desire wealth, we will fear poverty. If we desire companionship, we will fear loneliness. If we desire approval, we will fear rejection. If we desire peace, we will fear conflict. If we desire life, we will fear death. If we desire personal holiness, we will fear moral failure. If a person desires unbridled pleasure, he will fear restrictions. The wicked have self-centered desires that create self-centered fears. The righteous have God-centered desires that create God-centered fears. We all have desires – some us of have righteous desires and some of us have wicked desires. We all have fears – some of us have righteous fears and some of us have wicked fears. A desire for God’s will in our life is a righteous desire where a desire for our will in our life is a wicked desire. A fear of falling in sin is a righteous fear where a fear of losing wealth is a wicked fear.
This proverb teaches us that aligning our desires with God’s desires is how we are granted the desires of our hearts. It is most certainly not teaching that God gives good people whatever they want. In Psalm 21, David writes about a king’s relationship with God and prays to God, “Thou has given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips.” Without reading anything else in the twenty-first psalm, it would appear that David is suggesting that God gives the king whatever he wants. The preceding statement in that psalm identifies the reason for the king’s desires being granted when David says, “The king shall JOY in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he REJOICE!” The king who has his desires granted is the king who intentionally aligns his heart with God’s heart. The man who has his desires granted is the soul who intentionally aligns his desires with God’s desires. This is why David would later say in his thirty-seventh psalm, “DELIGHT thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Righteous living isn’t the rub that unlocks the genie in the bottle who grants us all the desires of our hearts. Going to church doesn’t move God to grant our desires. Reading our Bible doesn’t move God to grant our desires. Those righteous acts help us learn about God’s desires and ultimately, align our desires with God’s desires. Desiring what God desires is what naturally leads to experiencing the fulfillment of our desires.
Because our desires create our fears, this proverb also teaches that misaligning our desires with God is how we experience our worst fears. When we fail to desire what God desires, we fear what we shouldn’t fear. When we fail to desire what God desires, we make decisions that eventually bring our greatest fears to pass. For example, if we desire wealth and luxury, we will pursue it and open our hearts to the love of money. The love of money produces a fear of poverty or even financial mediocrity. Because the love of money is the root of all evil, it will lead to foolish decisions that almost always brings upon a person poverty. In such an obvious case, a person who desires something that God doesn’t desire will allow that wicked desire to make decisions that will lead to that person’s greatest fear. If you look for it, you will see this principle throughout the lives of the wicked. Wicked mob bosses and drug lords desire power and as a result, fear being powerless and insignificant. Their godless desire produces a foolish fear, which then creates cruel tactics to preserve their power. These cruel and violent tactics then create a world of enemies from which a more powerful opponent rises. As a result, the powerful drug lord is murdered and ultimately becomes what he feared to become - powerless and insignificant.
While this proverb suggests that God punishes the wicked and that He blesses the righteous, it is more meaningful than that. The wicked bring upon themselves their worst fears by failing to align their desires with God while the righteous experience their hearts’ desires by aligning their desires with God’s desires. I think it wise to ask ourselves, “What are our worst fears?” Our fears will tell us our desires. We then need to ask ourselves more importantly, “Are our desires aligned with God’s desires?” If our desire is for acceptance, is that God’s desire for us? If our desire is for physical healing, is that God’s desire for us? If our desire is for vengeance, is that God’s desire for us?
If our desires aren’t aligned with God’s desires, then we don’t have righteous desires. If we don’t have righteous desires, then we don’t have righteous fears. If we don’t have righteous fears, then we’ll make unrighteous decisions to avoid seeing those unrighteous fears come to pass. Sadly and ironically, unrighteous decisions almost always result in bringing our worst fears to pass. Align your heart with God’s heart and He will grant you the desires of your heart because they are the desires of His heart.
Solomon contrasts the FEAR of the wicked with the DESIRE of the righteous, which is very different from the punishment of the wicked and the reward of the righteous. While the morality of two groups of people are clearly contrasted in this proverb, it is the feeling of their hearts that provides the insight. Everyone has FEARS and everyone has DESIRES. The wicked have desires and based on this proverb, they clearly have fears. The righteous have fears and based on this proverb, they clearly have desires. When contrasting these two groups of morality, Solomon concludes that the wicked will have their worst fears come to pass while the righteous will have their deepest desires granted.
Does this mean that God grants the deepest desires of our hearts as long as live righteously?
Does this mean that God brings upon us our worst fears if we live wickedly?
History, as recorded in Scripture and as seen with our own eyes, would tell us the answer to those questions is “no.” While God does punish the wicked, He does not bring upon the wicked every fear that they have. While God does bless the righteous, He does not grant the righteous every desire they have. While our behavior does directly impact our relationship with God, there is a deeper principle within this proverb. By incorporating man’s fears and desires into this proverb, Solomon is linking man’s morality with his feelings.
Our desires create our fears. If we desire wealth, we will fear poverty. If we desire companionship, we will fear loneliness. If we desire approval, we will fear rejection. If we desire peace, we will fear conflict. If we desire life, we will fear death. If we desire personal holiness, we will fear moral failure. If a person desires unbridled pleasure, he will fear restrictions. The wicked have self-centered desires that create self-centered fears. The righteous have God-centered desires that create God-centered fears. We all have desires – some us of have righteous desires and some of us have wicked desires. We all have fears – some of us have righteous fears and some of us have wicked fears. A desire for God’s will in our life is a righteous desire where a desire for our will in our life is a wicked desire. A fear of falling in sin is a righteous fear where a fear of losing wealth is a wicked fear.
This proverb teaches us that aligning our desires with God’s desires is how we are granted the desires of our hearts. It is most certainly not teaching that God gives good people whatever they want. In Psalm 21, David writes about a king’s relationship with God and prays to God, “Thou has given him his heart’s desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips.” Without reading anything else in the twenty-first psalm, it would appear that David is suggesting that God gives the king whatever he wants. The preceding statement in that psalm identifies the reason for the king’s desires being granted when David says, “The king shall JOY in thy strength, O LORD; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he REJOICE!” The king who has his desires granted is the king who intentionally aligns his heart with God’s heart. The man who has his desires granted is the soul who intentionally aligns his desires with God’s desires. This is why David would later say in his thirty-seventh psalm, “DELIGHT thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” Righteous living isn’t the rub that unlocks the genie in the bottle who grants us all the desires of our hearts. Going to church doesn’t move God to grant our desires. Reading our Bible doesn’t move God to grant our desires. Those righteous acts help us learn about God’s desires and ultimately, align our desires with God’s desires. Desiring what God desires is what naturally leads to experiencing the fulfillment of our desires.
Because our desires create our fears, this proverb also teaches that misaligning our desires with God is how we experience our worst fears. When we fail to desire what God desires, we fear what we shouldn’t fear. When we fail to desire what God desires, we make decisions that eventually bring our greatest fears to pass. For example, if we desire wealth and luxury, we will pursue it and open our hearts to the love of money. The love of money produces a fear of poverty or even financial mediocrity. Because the love of money is the root of all evil, it will lead to foolish decisions that almost always brings upon a person poverty. In such an obvious case, a person who desires something that God doesn’t desire will allow that wicked desire to make decisions that will lead to that person’s greatest fear. If you look for it, you will see this principle throughout the lives of the wicked. Wicked mob bosses and drug lords desire power and as a result, fear being powerless and insignificant. Their godless desire produces a foolish fear, which then creates cruel tactics to preserve their power. These cruel and violent tactics then create a world of enemies from which a more powerful opponent rises. As a result, the powerful drug lord is murdered and ultimately becomes what he feared to become - powerless and insignificant.
While this proverb suggests that God punishes the wicked and that He blesses the righteous, it is more meaningful than that. The wicked bring upon themselves their worst fears by failing to align their desires with God while the righteous experience their hearts’ desires by aligning their desires with God’s desires. I think it wise to ask ourselves, “What are our worst fears?” Our fears will tell us our desires. We then need to ask ourselves more importantly, “Are our desires aligned with God’s desires?” If our desire is for acceptance, is that God’s desire for us? If our desire is for physical healing, is that God’s desire for us? If our desire is for vengeance, is that God’s desire for us?
If our desires aren’t aligned with God’s desires, then we don’t have righteous desires. If we don’t have righteous desires, then we don’t have righteous fears. If we don’t have righteous fears, then we’ll make unrighteous decisions to avoid seeing those unrighteous fears come to pass. Sadly and ironically, unrighteous decisions almost always result in bringing our worst fears to pass. Align your heart with God’s heart and He will grant you the desires of your heart because they are the desires of His heart.
Posted in Proverbs Commentary
Posted in Solomon, fear, Desire, wicked, righteous, David, Psalm 21, Psalm 37, wealth, poverty, Drug lords, Answered Prayer
Posted in Solomon, fear, Desire, wicked, righteous, David, Psalm 21, Psalm 37, wealth, poverty, Drug lords, Answered Prayer
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