Proverbs 4:20-27 – “My son, give attention to my words;  Incline your ear to my sayings.  21 Do not let them depart from your sight;  Keep them in the midst of your heart. 22 For they are life to those who find them And health to all their body.  23 Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life.  24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth And put devious speech far from you.  25 Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. 26 Watch the path of your feet And all your ways will be established. 27 Do not turn to the right nor to the left; Turn your foot from evil.”  NASU

 

In a devotional, space and brevity prevent a full exegesis of almost any passage so bear with me as I attempt to highlight what I sense the Lord would have me convey.  It is my settled conviction that God’s word should serve as our guide in life and practice.  It is as we delve into the precepts and principles taught therein we find a place in God that is lofty in our daily lives.  God never presents lofty precepts and principles attainable only by a privileged few but desires them for all believers.  Those lofty places in the Spirit of God are never based on performance but heritage.  It is because God is our Father!  Here we find some incredible instruction that will lead us into that loftiness in the spiritual realm.

GIVE ATTENTION…

The instruction is ‘attend to’ or ‘do’ the word.  We are admonished to follow the instructions contained herein.  We are to hear, understand and implement them in our lives.  Truth that is not appropriated and applied is knowledge that will ‘puff up’ but will not advance our lives or the kingdom.

INCLINE YOUR EAR…

We are to ‘listen’.  As we learn to listen we find our understanding is illuminated enabling us to comprehend what is being taught, to properly respond to that truth.  It is as we understand that we can truly become a ‘doer of the word’ not just a hearer.

NOT DEPART FROM YOUR EYES…

We are instructed to keep the instructions in the forefront of our minds or in our consciousness.  We know from scripture and science that we become what we behold or what we are continually placing in our consciousness.  It is as we keep the covenant of God steadfastly and continuously in our heart and mind we find our natural response is to obey that instruction.

IN THE MIDST OF YOUR HEART…

Simply allow your spirit man to be so filled with the words of the Lord that you are continuously ‘Spirit-led’.  The encouragement is to allow the word of God to permeate our spirits so that what comes out of our hearts and mouths is God’s Word.

The result of those four things is two-fold as is evidenced in verse 22 – Life and Health.  The writer takes us further in vv. 23-27 with the requirement of carefully watching over our hearts because out of the heart comes life and to avoid deceit from us guarding our words.  He counsels us to keep focused on the prize watching how we live and resist the temptation of straying from our firm commitment.

We can live in the abundant life that Jesus has purchased for us but we will not achieve that place spiritually unless we value the food of the soul the Word of God.  May God be with you as you invest in His word and kingdom!  Blessings!