A DIFFERENT ROUTE TO HEALTH AND STRENGTH
Proverbs 3:7-8 NKJV
7 Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
8 It will be health to your flesh,
And strength to your bones.
Proverbs chapter three contains some dynamic duo verses. Starting with verse one, there are some great verses that come in twos. Not forgetting God’s laws and keeping them in our heart produces productive days, long life and peace.
And the hits just keep on coming. Verses three and four say that if we become established in mercy and truth, we will find favor with God and man. Verses four and five tell us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and not lean on our own understanding. And if we will acknowledge God in all our ways, He will direct our paths. There are some great combinations in this chapter in the first ten verses.
Our verses for today are another example of those great combinations. Although this one is probably not as well quoted. As in the other combinations, verse seven instructs us as to what to do, and verse eight gives us the benefits of following those instructions. Verse seven says we are not to be wise in our own eyes. Wise in our own eyes is a function of pride. When we are wise according to us, then there is no need to get input from anyone else, including the Lord. We got it. But that can lead to trouble.
Instead of being wise in our own opinion, a better plan is to have a reverence for the Lord. That’s a meaning of fear the Lord. Not fearing that He is going to do something bad to us, but rather having such a respect for Him that it governs our actions. One of the key indicators of a reverence for the Lord is departing from evil. We don’t want to dishonor Him in any way, so we choose to leave any form of wrongdoing behind. We are not talking about perfection here; it’s more about our heart to do the right thing. And, if you miss it, apologize and get back on track.
Those are the instructions in verse seven. Now, in verse eight, we see the benefits. There are benefits in this life of respecting God and His ways. It leads to health and strength. I didn’t make this up. This is God’s Word. Fearing God and departing from evil yields a healthier body and stronger bones. Most of us know healthy bones are valuable to our overall health.
APPLICATION
Over the last 40-50 years, great strides have been made in the areas of exercise, nutrition, and medicine, so much so that people are living longer and longer. I recently read an article about people living and working longer. The retirement age was set at 65 many years ago when the life span of men was only 68 or 70—so retiring at 65 worked for people living on a pension. But now people are working longer, some out of necessity, but they are calling 75 the new 65. We are healthier and stronger than we were 100 years ago. Going forward, add Proverbs 3:7-8 to your health routine. Fearing God and departing from evil will be health and strength to your inner man and will benefit your overall health as well. God is good and knows what He is talking about. He created us and knows what produces health and strength in His creations.
PRAYER
Thank You, Lord, for showing me how to live in health and strength.