SOME OF THE BEST WISDOM REGARDING GOD'S WORD
PROVERBS 4:20-22 NKJ
PROVERBS 4:20-22 NKJ
20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;
22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.
OBSERVATION:
In this short passage, we find a wealth of information and instruction regarding God's word.
First, we get instructions. It is instruction to a son. The tone we use with our children is vastly different than speaking with an employee or friend. We have a different kind of love for our children, and we really want them to "get it." So read this passage from a loving parent.
Attend to my words and incline your ear to my sayings. Imploring a beloved child to put a focus on, for our purposes, God's word. The idea here is not passive listening but listening with the intent to put it into practice.
Do not let the words of God depart from your eyes, but rather keep them in your heart. Obviously, this is not a physical activity. No one can function with God's word in front of them continually. We've seen the effects of texting and driving, so this has to be different.
This is keeping God's word in your mind's eye, your thoughts grounded on the foundation of what God has said. So instead of "seeing" ourselves in a physical or mental sense, we see ourselves from what God's word says about us. Blessed, strong, loved, and forgiven in Christ. And refusing to go down the negative path of self-abuse or self-pity.
Keeping God's words in our thoughts is the key to keeping God's word in our hearts. This is a discipline that, like most disciplines, is not easy. We have to retrain ourselves to think this way, but it's worth the effort.
God's word is life and health to us. Is just picking up the Bible and reading life and health to us? Yes and no. Yes, it's the best place to start, but we have to do what verses 20-21 instruct. Attend, think, keep. God's word is life to those who find them. Attending, thinking, and keeping God's word is what brings the spiritual life and health. Because those who practice those instructions are the ones who find God’s word.
The greater our intentionality and focus on God's word, the greater the results. Spiritual life to our spirits and physical strength to our bodies and minds. With no co-pay or deductible to meet. What a great benefits package!
PRAYER:
Thank you, Father, for Your eternal life-giving powerful word. I purpose to give Your word a greater place in my life.