A poem from my childhood came into my mind. I looked it up. It was written by Rudyard Kipling. The first part goes like this: “If you can keep your head when those about you are losing theirs and blaming it on you…”

What does the Bible say? Proverbs 15:1 says, “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word  stirs up anger.” Proverbs 25:15 Amplified says, “By long forbearance and calmness of spirit a judge or ruler is persuaded, and soft speech breaks down the more bonelike resistance.”

The above two verses are heart armor for interpersonal relationships. My dad used to say, “Convince a woman against her will, and she will be of the same opinion still.” Bonelike resistance are two words condensed into one ~ stubbornness.

1 Samuel 15:23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord…” Hosea 10:13 says, “You have plowed wickedness; you have reaped iniquity. You have eaten the fruit of lies, because you trusted in your own way…”

Let’s unpack this. Witchcraft is seeking to control another with a spirit that is not the Holy Spirit. Our personal agenda, and our fleshly tenacity to hold onto our opinion can be idolatry.

Ezekiel 14:4 says, “…Everyone…who sets up his idols in his heart, and puts before him what causes him to stumble into iniquity…I the Lord will answer him…according to the multitude of his idols.” This verse was written to the house of Israel but we can make personal applications.

There is a vast difference between righteous conviction and fleshly driven opinions. An opinion is a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.

Romans 14:4 gave the parameters of a righteous conviction. It says, “Who are you to judge another’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand.”

The book of the Acts has many narratives of folks standing in righteous conviction. Peter and John were commanded to not speak or teach in the name of Jesus. Acts 4:19-20 says, “But Peter and John answered and said to them, Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

There was quick and severe action against Ananias and Sapphira. Their heart idol cost them their lives. Acts 5:3 says, “…why has satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit…?”

Here is a discerning question to ask yourself. What opinion fills my heart that creates interpersonal conflicts? Colossians 3:13 says, “Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

We cannot effectively convince a person against their opinion. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. We usurp His role when we try. In order to walk in unity, we need to put Ephesians 4:2 into practice. It says, “With all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love.”

Romans 12:18 says, “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Here is a verse I have taped to my kitchen cabinet door. Titus 3:2 says, “To speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men.” Great verse and one that we need to live by in order to exemplify the Lord in all aspects of our lives.

I want you to picture a sponge in your mind. We have a secret weapon to fight negativity. Gratitude is like a sponge that soaks up the negative atmosphere. We can express gratitude at any given moment in our lives.

It doesn’t need to have a perfect setting. Gratitude is a heart attitude. Think of ‘an attitude of gratitude’ as a warrior’s weapon. It can instantly dispel any negative thought that rushes into your mind. A negative thought against another, yourself, or your circumstances often come through a fiery dart.

What if you are talking to someone and they start speaking negatively? You can instantly switch your mind into being grateful. If you watch, the speaker’s facial expression will change. We become part of causing the enemy’s plan to fail. Victory in Jesus!

Negative folks have a critical spirit. They can find fault with anything set before them. It is a cycle of judging another with a critical eye, which then is measured back to them. Isn’t that what Matthew 7:2 says? Here are the words, “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Romans 2:1 says, “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.” Ugh!

The Greek word ‘judge’ in both of the above verses means by implication. Implication means: the conclusion that can be drawn from something although it is not explicitly stated. In other words, we judge from our own conclusions about something without knowing all the facts.

It goes back to treating others as we would want to be treated. Ephesians 4:32 says that we are to forgive with the same measure that we have been forgiven. Philippians 2:3 says, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.

1 Thessalonians 5:16 says that being thankful is God’s will. Negativity is against it. He created us in His image. I’m certainly grateful that He is never negative! We can take our cue from Him.

Proverbs 22:9 says, “He who has a generous eye will be blessed, for he gives of his bread to the poor.” Isaiah 58:10 Amplified says, “And if you pour out that with which you sustain your own life for the hungry and satisfy the need of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in darkness, and your obscurity and gloom become like the noonday.”

A negative person is shriveled in their spirit like a dehydrated prune. The cure for dehydration is water. God’s word is living water according to John 4:10 and John 7:38. When our intimate communion with the Lord is what sustains us, then we will be a living conduit of His truths that will refresh those we speak to. 

Since every action is first a thought, then we can intentionally direct our actions through our thoughts. Intentional means done on purpose or deliberate. We can not accurately say that someone or some circumstance made us do something.

Our actions are of our own making. They come from what we dwell on through our mental dialogue. A negative dialogue comes from our heart’s core belief which comes from our past experiences. 

Psalm 15:2 encourages us to speak truth in our heart. We gain our truth from God’s word. Colossians 3:16 says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.”

Psalm 104:34 says, “May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the Lord.” In Psalm 19:14 David was praying. Let our words echo his. It says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.”

Our thoughts can either bring mental fatigue or mental clarity and strength. A negative dialogue causes us to spiral down emotionally. A righteous dialogue builds up our faith and stabilizes our walk with the Lord.

A negative dialogue goes against our design. It brings confusion to our brain. A negative person has not guarded their heart. Proverbs 4:23 says, “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”

Let’s look at what happens when we are not diligent. In Proverbs 24:330-34 we read a short discourse of a man who lacked diligence. Consider this passage as a picture into his heart.

Verse 30-31 says, “I went by the field of the lazy man, and by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding; and there it was all overgrown with thorns; its surface was covered with nettles; its stone wall was broken down.”

We have to ask ourselves: is my heart full of thorns? Mark 4:19 described the result of not being diligent to root out thorns. It says, “And the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”

A negative person is not content. They see everything in their life through a cloudy lens. They are centered on self and cannot see beyond their own needs. The word of God does not occupy their mind. Other things have entered and choked it.

There was a back field at my old house that was full of star thistle. It was very proficient at sowing weed seeds. If I tried to pull one up, I had to use gloves because the needles were prickly. In Proverbs 24:31 it said that the ground was covered with nettles. A negative person is prickly.

Peter encouraged his readers to diligently add to their faith. He gave a list of things to add. Then in verse 8 he wrote, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Verse 9 is very insightful regarding our hearts. It says, “For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins.”

A negative person’s heart is barren. It is overgrown with thorns and nettles, and its protective hedge of God’s word is broken down. How then do they course correct? First by acknowledging that they have been negligent. They have failed to bring in God’s word to pull out the overgrowth of weeds.

God’s word is a good seed that will flourish in any heart with fertile soil. They will bear much fruit for the glory of the Lord. Their speech will impart grace, and will encourage all who hear their words. Let us be diligent to keep our heart so that our meditation is sweet to the Lord who alone hears our thoughts.

All thoughts come laced with our motives. Our motives come from what we believe from the myriad experiences in our lives. We tend to blame things on our past, others, or our own sinful choices. The ‘blame’ is rooted in sin. When we accepted the Lord as our personal Savior, we were indwelt by the Spirit of truth.

In John 14:16=17, Jesus gave a promise. It says, “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever–the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

Does that truth mean that we will never sin again? Paul addressed that question in Romans 6. Verse 1–2 says, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

When did we die to sin? Verse 4 says, “Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.” At salvation we died to sin. That is our standing. Jude verse 24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”

Our state is another matter. We must die to the fleshly pull of sin’s lure. Romans 8:13 says, “For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.” 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?”

How then shall we live? Paul’s way to live was stated in Galatians 2:20. It says, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Then he further stated a truth that we can stand in. 

Verse 21 says, “I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” How do we ‘set aside grace’ but through living in the pride of our flesh. James 4:6 says, “But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

How do we live in humility? It is through our thoughts. At any given moment in our lives, we can stop and think about what we are thinking. All thoughts precede our actions. We do not act except from a thought. It seems simple then to just control our thoughts. Nothing about resisting sin is by rote. It takes concerted effort to keep our thoughts stayed on the Lord.

If for a moment you allow your thoughts to roam where do they go? Romans 6:11 says, “Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Dead things have no ability to respond. Being dead to sin is our standing, but keeping our thoughts in that truth is a fight. The battleground is our mind.

2 Corinthians 10:5 says to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. How do we do that? It depends on what we have programmed into our mind through what we believe about ourselves. Do we live by the gospel? 1 Corinthians 1:18 says that the message of the cross is the power of God. That is the power that we need to live in daily in order to remain free from sin’s lures.

Let’s remember God’s progression in our trials. Romans 5:3-4 says that first comes the trial, hardship, or adversity. Through that we learn perseverance. God uses our walk in perseverance to develop our character. Through that development hope is established.

Verse 5 says, “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” 1 Corinthians 13:13 says, “And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

Our trials, hardships, and adversities are enveloped in God’s love. His love is unconditional.
Remind yourself often that God is never disappointed. His love encompasses every aspect of our lives. Hebrews 12:5-9 was written to help us understand that a large part of our progressive sanctification is discipline because He loves us.

Verse 10 started out in reference to our earthly fathers. It says, “For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness.”

The resulting profit of our chastening was further stated in verse 11. In the Amplified it says, “For the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful; but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it (a harvest of fruit which consists in righteousness—in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action…”

His discipline is profitable only to those who are trained by it. Have you ever had to repeat a trial? I have. How many dorm mothers have had young girls under their tutelage that did not get along with their mothers? The girls will complain, ‘My dorm mother is just like my mom!’

Perhaps it is a young man who went into the military to escape what he considered was his overbearing father. He soon found out that his drill sergeant was far stricter. The Lord does not allow us to escape His method of training. His goal is to develop our character through every trying circumstance in our lives.

I think about the trials I’ve had to repeat. They were all for my spiritual growth and well being. I did not suffer unjustly. I’m drawn back to Hebrews 5:8. I cannot imagine what it was like for the Lord. It says, “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.”

1 Peter 4:12 says, “Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange things happened to you.” Every trail is divinely orchestrated for our good. Let us embrace what the Lord is using to conform us to His image that He might be glorified.

Disappointment is rooted in broken expectations. Proverbs 25:19 says, “Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble, is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.” Have you ever tried to walk on a broken foot? There is no stability.

Let’s link James 1:6-8 with broken expectations. The three verses go back to verse 5 which is asking God for wisdom during our trials. They say, “But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”

Our expectations in man will fail. Jesus instructed His followers. Mark 11:22 says, “…Have faith in God.” When we turn to anything or anyone other than the Lord in our time of trouble, our expectations will be broken.

Man can plan, but only God has control. Proverbs 16:1 says, “The preparations of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” Verse 3 is a clear direction for each one of us.

It says, “Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” When we compare ‘established’ with ‘double-minded’ we can easily see the difference. The Hebrew word for ‘commit’ means to roll, roll down, roll away, remove.

The word is aptly illustrated with a loaded camel. When the load is to be removed, the camel kneels down, tilts far to one side, and the load rolls off. What a picture for us! We are to roll our troubles off onto the Lord through trusting prayer.

Have you ever given your burden to the Lord and then taken it back? That only proves that we did not trust Him to carry it for us. Pride sneaks in and we think that we can do it through worry. Worry divides our mind and brings disordered thoughts.

Psalm 37:5 says, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Verse 7 says, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him…” Verse 8 says, “…do not fret—it only causes harm.”

Do you know what fretting does? It rubs until it wears away. Fret means to be constantly or visibly worried or anxious. It also means to gradually wear something away by rubbing or gnawing.

Worry, anxiety, and fear cause our brain to signal our body to go into a fight or flight mode. The Lord created us with the ability to fight or flee when we are in danger. However, chronic  worry, anxiety, or fear keeps our sympathetic system in the fight or flight mode even though there is no danger. It keeps us in stress which raises cortisol.

Disappointment can linger unless we process it to acceptance. We do that by first acknowledging our sin of placing our expectation on someone or something. We agree with the Lord that we usurped His place. We ask for His forgiveness, and then stand in His grace to move beyond our disappointment.

Only the Lord can fulfill His promise. He is our Masterful Orchestrator. Man has no control over anything except his thoughts. We are the only ones who can control our thoughts. We lay a great foundation for our thought processes through memorizing and meditating on God’s word.

Have you ever felt that God was disappointed in you? It is a lie! It is impossible for God to be disappointed. Why? He has no expectations. He knows your thoughts before you even think them. He knows every nuance of your lives.

We fall prey to the lies of the enemy when we do not walk in the knowledge of the Lord. Proverbs 9:10 says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.”

We will never plumb the depths of Who God is. Romans 11:33 says, “Oh, the depths of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out!”

I love Isaiah 40. There are many great verses about the Lord. Verse 12 says, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, measured heaven with a span and calculated the dust of the earth in a measure? Weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?”

Verse 14 is a good one to keep us in perspective when we are facing what seems like an impossible circumstance. It says, “With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? Who taught Him knowledge, and showed Him the way of understanding?”

Verse 28 says, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.”

Colossians 2:3 says, “In whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Colossians 1:10 is for us to apply. It says, “That you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.”

The word ‘increase’ means that there is a beginning and a gradual adding to. What did Peter instruct his reader to add to their faith? 2 Peter 1:5-7 was a list of inner graces. Have you been adding: virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love?

Verse 8 says, “For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We gain by growing. It doesn’t matter how many years you have known the Lord. The key question is: are you growing in your knowledge of Him?

Ephesians 3:19 Amplified says, “(That you may really come) to know (practically, through experience for yourselves) the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge (without experience); that you may be filled (through all your being) unto all the fullness of God (may have the richest measure of the divine Presence, and become a body wholly filled and flooded with God Himself)!”

Increasing in our knowledge of God, and getting to know Him through the experiences of our lives, is a powerful weapon that will be like a shield to protect us from satan’s fiery dart lies. When the lie ‘God is disappointed in you’ comes, we know how to counter it. We affirm the truth: God knows everything about me. He has NO expectations and therefore NO disappointments! I am totally accepted in the Beloved!

All created beings have expectations. Psalm 104:27-28 was written about this. It says, “These all wait for You, that You may give them their food in due season. What You give them they gather in; You open Your hand, they are filled with good.”

Romans 8:19 says, “For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.” Verse 21 says that they wait because they know that they will be delivered. Verse 22 says that all creation groans.

Verse 23 says, “Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.” 

Think of a lion. He goes out expecting to find prey so he can eat. Psalm 145:15-16 says, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You, and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

Matthew 6:26 says, “Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?” Verse 28 says, “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.”

Matthew 6:25-34 was written to instruct us on the futility of worry. Why do we worry? It is because we are expecting something but don’t know the outcome in the moment. Yet God does. 

Every trial is seeded with God’s provision of wisdom. Proverbs 2:7 say that His wisdom is stored up for the upright. James 1:5 says that when we don’t know what to do in our trial that we are to ask Him.

God is the only One who knows all things. It is futile to worry because we are speculating about something that we have no control over. ‘What if’ should not be in our thoughts. Rather we can ask ‘What are You doing Lord in this moment of my life?’ That is the question that ushers in His navigating wisdom.

Wholly

Absolutely

Intentionally

Trusting

To wait is an expression of humility and trust. All our expectations must be in God. Not in what we hope He will do, but in His steadfast character. 2 Peter 1:4 says, “By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature…” We ‘partake’ through centering our thoughts on the Lord and His unchangeable character.

Psalm 62:1 says, “Truly my soul silently waits for God; from Him comes my salvation.” Verse 5 says, “ My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him.” Have you ever noticed how noisy worry is? Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still, and know that I am God…”

The taunting lie of the enemy is that we have failed at something. Here are two great verses to memorize. Psalm 37:23-24 says, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with His hand.”

Did Peter fail? In Luke 22:31 Jesus told Peter that satan, “…asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.” Now read Jesus’ reassuring words. Verse 32 says, “But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.”

Does the Lord Jesus pray for us? Hebrews 12:2 says, “…and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” We need to tuck Romans 8:27 in our heart. It says, “Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

We have multiple verses about the will of God. Ephesians 1:11 says, “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will.”

Ephesians 5:17 says, “Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Here is another verse about His will. 1 Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Do you understand His will better with that verse?

I know that when I was in my High School years, the question often rose up in our discussions. Did you ever wonder what God’s will was for your life? I did. It was like a mystery in those days. Yet, it is very plain through Scripture if we will just look for it.

Jesus followed the will of His Father. John 6:38 says, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” I love verse 39. It says, “This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day.”

Verse 40 is like it but we can apply it directly to our own lives. It says, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise Him up at the last day.”

Our promise is in the gospel. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “…that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.”

1 Peter 1:3 says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.”

How can we fail? We are made in His image. It is impossible for God to fail! Neither do we fail. To fail means: inability to meet an expectation. An expectation is based on something that might happen. God doesn’t have expectations. He knows!

Do you remember the hymn, “Jesus Never Fails”? Joshua gave his last message to the children of Israel. He reminded them of an important fact. Joshua 23:14 says, “Behold, this day I am going the way of all the earth. And you know in all your hearts and in all your souls…”

He wanted to emphasize an important truth that would carry them into their future. It is one that we need to remember as well.  The verse went on to say, “…not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one word of them has failed.”

We are assured through Isaiah 55:11 that it is impossible for God’s word to fail. It says, “So shall my word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”

God’s word is eternal. It will be fulfilled. 1 Peter 1:25 says, “But the word of the Lord endures forever. Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.” Our salvation is laid in an unshakable, impenetrable, and impermeable foundation.

His word remains though everything is being shaken around us. Our faith is based on His faithfulness, and certainly not our own. We will fail every time we do something in our own strength. Our fleshly ways are worthless. 2 Timothy 2:13 says, “If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.” Such grounding words!

God’s word anchors our soul. A mindset is like an indestructible house of thought that is based on our beliefs. We form mindsets of truth when we hide God’s word in our heart. These mindsets cannot be shaken by impossible or negative circumstances. Our mind goes back to stand in them when chaos breaks out around us.

We certainly have lived in a worldwide turmoil in the last few years. Yet, God’s word has not changed. Hebrews 10:35 says to not cast away our confidence. Confidence is a settled belief in God that keeps us grounded when everything around us is in upheaval. God’s word is for every generation, and does not change as times in history do.

Isaiah 33:6 says, “Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; the fear of the Lord is His treasure.” Proverbs 2:6-7 says, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly.”

Upright and uprightly are the same as the word righteous. What is righteousness? Hebrews 12:11 Amplified says, “…in conformity to God’s will in purpose, thought, and action, resulting in right living and right standing with God).”

Isaiah 32:17 says, “The work of righteousness will be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever.” In our standing we have the righteousness of Christ in God. In our state, we might fluctuate through our thoughts.

Yet, in any given moment, we can recenter on the Lord and bring our thoughts back into conformity to His will and ways. Psalm 18:32 says, “It is God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect.” He uses the pressures of our adversities to center us on Him and Him alone.