Be Established
Following up with my previous post, I have been studying in more depth the idea of the spiritual heart and what kind of bearing it has on our lives.
Proverbs 4:20-27 KJV
As a parent, I spend a lot of my breath telling my children to not do something or to do something. Generally, the desire behind my words is to protect them from evil or harm, and to help them understand the effect of their actions for good or for evil.
I heard once that God created sin so that He could save us. Like some twisted villain in a Mission Impossible movie inventing a poison just so he could sell the antidote. If that is your view of God - you have missed His heart completely. I firmly believe that His heart breaks for every person that is trapped in a life of sin. 2 Peter 3:9 says,
Going back to Proverbs chapter 4, look at the action words: attend, incline, let them not depart, keep. Those are imperatives, a beseeching call from a loving Father for a beloved child to return and to avoid and to overcome sin.
The next few verses tell us why we must listen to His Words and keep them in the midst of our hearts. They are life and health. They will enable you to keep your heart with all diligence. Why does that matter? What is so important about the heart? Out of it are the issues of life. Every thought, every word, and every action is filtered through the condition and keeping of our heart.
In keeping or protecting our hearts, we are then able to put away any froward words, or words that move away from the Lord. Let your eyes look right on and straight before thee. The straight path does not require us to look to the left or the right. It is as simple as trusting the Lord to lay out a path according to His will, and then following it in obedience.
The next verse is a reminder that we are not "God zombies." It says, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." By definition, ponder means to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. God is so certain and sure about the truths in His word that he challenges us, even commands us, to search it out. To think carefully and study to fully appreciate the beauty and intricacies of His Ways.
At that point, let your ways be established. Establish by definition means to show something is true or certain by determining the facts; or set up on a firm or permanent basis. When we have searched out His ways, we then must set up a permanent foundation of His truths for the rest of our lives. At that point, it is only logical to "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil."
God has laid out such a perfect and logical plan for our lives. He could have been mysterious and confusing, and while some people do see Him that way, careful study and thought about His Word determines that to not to be true. He is generous, loving, and compassionate. He is desperately seeking the lost and pursuing their hearts, but the lost must also be willing to seek after Him.
What a precious thought...that the Creator of the universe and the God of my heart has pursued me since before time began. He saw me and loved me even in my mother's womb. How great a love that must be!
Proverbs 4:20-27 KJV
My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.
Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.
For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.
Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee.
Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee.
Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established.
Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil.When I am studying a portion of Scripture, I often look for the action words. The ones that challenge me to do something. To think a certain way or to perform a certain action - and always with a specific desired outcome. This particular portion of Scripture looked pretty commanding, when I read it initially. However, upon a second and third reading, I began to see the heart behind it. God's heart behind it.
As a parent, I spend a lot of my breath telling my children to not do something or to do something. Generally, the desire behind my words is to protect them from evil or harm, and to help them understand the effect of their actions for good or for evil.
I heard once that God created sin so that He could save us. Like some twisted villain in a Mission Impossible movie inventing a poison just so he could sell the antidote. If that is your view of God - you have missed His heart completely. I firmly believe that His heart breaks for every person that is trapped in a life of sin. 2 Peter 3:9 says,
"The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."Do you see the promise in that - He is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. His desire is for us to avoid sin to overcome temptation with the power of the Holy Spirit. Not to live broken lives in a mire of guilt and depression and fear.
Going back to Proverbs chapter 4, look at the action words: attend, incline, let them not depart, keep. Those are imperatives, a beseeching call from a loving Father for a beloved child to return and to avoid and to overcome sin.
The next few verses tell us why we must listen to His Words and keep them in the midst of our hearts. They are life and health. They will enable you to keep your heart with all diligence. Why does that matter? What is so important about the heart? Out of it are the issues of life. Every thought, every word, and every action is filtered through the condition and keeping of our heart.
In keeping or protecting our hearts, we are then able to put away any froward words, or words that move away from the Lord. Let your eyes look right on and straight before thee. The straight path does not require us to look to the left or the right. It is as simple as trusting the Lord to lay out a path according to His will, and then following it in obedience.
The next verse is a reminder that we are not "God zombies." It says, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established." By definition, ponder means to think about something carefully, especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion. God is so certain and sure about the truths in His word that he challenges us, even commands us, to search it out. To think carefully and study to fully appreciate the beauty and intricacies of His Ways.
At that point, let your ways be established. Establish by definition means to show something is true or certain by determining the facts; or set up on a firm or permanent basis. When we have searched out His ways, we then must set up a permanent foundation of His truths for the rest of our lives. At that point, it is only logical to "Turn not to the right hand nor to the left; remove thy foot from evil."
God has laid out such a perfect and logical plan for our lives. He could have been mysterious and confusing, and while some people do see Him that way, careful study and thought about His Word determines that to not to be true. He is generous, loving, and compassionate. He is desperately seeking the lost and pursuing their hearts, but the lost must also be willing to seek after Him.
What a precious thought...that the Creator of the universe and the God of my heart has pursued me since before time began. He saw me and loved me even in my mother's womb. How great a love that must be!
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