During church this past Sunday, this verse hit me. Not for the reason you might expect, though.
Our lives have been very messy. Not the messy most people deal with. I mean MESSY! The last month has been a rollercoaster of overwhelming circumstances–most of it not good. But do you see what this proverb shows us? Keeping things clean and neat and quiet does NOT lead to abundance. No! The manger, if used, is a smelly place that constantly needs attention to keep it from getting out of hand. But if you leave it empty, you have no oxen. If you have no oxen, you have no one to pull the plow. If the plow can’t work in the fields, you have no harvest.
I’m not saying I’m going to jump for joy at the mess of our lives, but at least I can step back and say this mess can lead to something good.
The Workbench of Faith 
Hang in there!
Barbara, I am sorry you’ve had to go through some really messy times lately. All I can say is that I hope things get better and I guess those times happen to everyone at one time or another. Our last few months have been really hard to deal with also. Hope things get better over the next couple of weeks. Keep in touch Joyce
We’ll be ok. From messes come abundance! Thanks for reaching out!
I’ve never thought of that proverb quite like that but I like it. Thanks for the reminder to find the silver lining in the mess 🙂
It does help a little bit, doesn’t it?