Wicked versus Righteous

What the wicked dreads will overtake him;

what the righteous desire will be granted.

When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,

but the righteous stand firm forever.

-Proverbs 10:24-25 (NIV)

"What the wicked dread." Isn't that an intriguing phrase? What then do the wicked dread? Think about it. When you lie or steal something, there is the constant dread of someone finding out. If you say something mean about someone, what if they hear about it? What if you get a bad reputation for being mean?

Dread. It is like a big ol' black cloud of darkness, a fear that that thing you did will come back to haunt you. Isn't that the way of sin? You think it will add pleasure, but instead it rips you off. It does, it really does.

In contrast, living right, doing right, has its own sweet rewards. I love that our proverb tells us that doing right gives us stability. The definition of stable is "constant, able to maintain or return to a strong position, not likely to fall." Stability. "The righteous stand firm forever."

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Let's let Jesus give us a clear picture. He said, "Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the stream rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock" (Matthew 7:24-25, NIV).

Live it out!
It is time for us "to walk the walk." As Jesus explained, we must hear God's Word and then put it into practice. . .  Righteous living is doing right things.

-From The One Year Wisdom for Women Devotional by Debbi Bryson; March 4