Our Daily Bread Devotional February 8, 2024 | Brought Low

Our Daily Bread Devotional February 8, 2024 ODB Message

Read Our Daily Bread Devotional February 8, 2024- Thursday ODB Message written by Marvin Williams and Today’s Insight By Tim Gustafson

TOPIC: Brought Low

Bible in a Year: Leviticus 4–5; Matthew 24:29–51

Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor. – Proverbs 29:23

Today’s Scripture: Proverbs 29:18–27

18 Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. 19 Servants cannot be corrected by mere words; though they understand, they will not respond.

20 Do you see someone who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for them. 21 A servant pampered from youth will turn out to be insolent. 22 An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

23 Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor. 24 The accomplices of thieves are their own enemies; they are put under oath and dare not testify.

25 Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. 26 Many seek an audience with a ruler, but it is from the Lord that one gets justice. 27 The righteous detest the dishonest; the wicked detest the upright.

Our Daily Bread 8th February 2024 Devotional Insight:
Proverbs 29:18-27 comes from a five-chapter section that begins with 25:1. That introductory verse says, “These are more proverbs of Solomon, compiled by the men of Hezekiah king of Judah.” Who were “the men of Hezekiah”? They were likely his scribes, and these proverbs were collected by them more than two hundred years after the death of King Solomon. Hezekiah had a reputation as a good and God-fearing king, and he was keenly interested in seeing the wisdom of his ancestor preserved and promulgated.

Proverbs 29:18 may be the most well-known proverb from today’s reading. The word revelation is rendered as “vision,” “prophecy,” or “prophetic vision” in other translations. The Hebrew word is khazon, which means “a revelation, a message from God.”

Our Daily Bread Devotional February 8, 2024 : MESSAGE

Pride precedes and often leads to humiliation—something a man in Norway found out. Not even dressed in running clothes, the individual arrogantly challenged Karsten Warholm—the world record holder in the 400-meter hurdles—to a race. Warholm, training in an indoor public facility, obliged the challenger and left him in his dust. At the finish line, the two-time world champion smiled when the man insisted that he’d had a bad start and wanted to race again!

In Proverbs 29:23 we read, “Pride brings a person low, but the lowly in spirit gain honor.” God’s dealings with the proud is one of Solomon’s favorite themes in the book (11:2; 16:18; 18:12). The word pride or haughty in these verses means “swelling” or “puffed up”—taking credit for what rightfully belongs to God. When we’re filled with pride, we think more highly of ourselves than we should. Jesus once said, “Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Matthew 23:12). Both He and Solomon direct us to pursue humility and lowliness. This isn’t false modesty, but rightsizing oneself and acknowledging that all that we have comes from God. It’s being wise and not saying things arrogantly “in haste” (Proverbs 29:20).

Let’s ask God to give us the heart and wisdom to humble ourselves to honor Him and avoid humiliation.

REFLECT:  When have you experienced humility that brought honor? How can you humble yourself before God?

PRAY: Dear God, remind me that humility is the pathway to honor in Your sight.

Our Daily Bread Devotional February 8, 2024, Thursday ODB Message. Our Daily Bread Ministries (ODB) is a Christian organization founded by Dr. Martin De Haan in 1938. It is based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with over 600 employees. It produces several devotional publications, including Our Daily Bread. our daily bread devotional for today audio our daily bread booklet.