Regret is the one sorrow which never dodges the footsteps of the hunted.”
–Max Brand (Riders of the Silences)
“Turn me away from wanting any other plan than yours. Revive my heart toward you.”
–Psalm 119:37 (TLB)
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Chapter 4 of Proverbs finishes by telling some specific instructions on how to travel on this journey of life. Read them over a couple times, ponder them, reflect on them, and adhere to the truth of what they are saying.
23 — Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
24 — Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from you.
25 — Let your eyes look straight ahead, and your eyelids look right before you.
26 — Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.
27 — Do not turn to the right or the left; remove your foot from evil. (NKJV)
Satan would like nothing better than to destroy your soul, your life, therefore we must keep the heart with all diligence or as the ESV puts it, “with all vigilance.” The CEV puts it this way, “Carefully guard your thoughts because they are the source of true life.” Our thought life stems from our inner being, and there is indeed a hard fought battle for the mind. Give in and you give in to the devil. Therefore we must guard with all diligence and vigilance. Someone said, “Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.” Warren Wiersbe has written, “If we pollute that wellspring, the infection will spread; before long, hidden appetites will become open sins and public shame.” We need to be like David when he cried, “Search me, O God, and know my heart…(Psalm 139:23). Remember, we need to keep the heart because it falls directly under the inspection of God. The words of Dan Dick ring true, “If we don’t commit ourselves to what is good and right, then we are empty.”
This world is after us. It is filled with distractions to get our focus off the Word, the journey, the path, and the destination. The world tells us to seek the “good life.” And it is up to you to determine what that may be. “But it is only when we can free ourselves from the pursuit of such things that we can begin to enjoy life the way God intended it.” (Dick) One way that can help destroy if not our lives, at least our testimony, is with a perverse mouth. There is so much foul talk these days; there is no thought of manners, politeness, or courtesy besides the instructions in the Bible. Paul told Titus to be sound of speech (Titus 2:8), and we read in Proverbs, “He who guards his mouth preserves his life, But he who opens wide his lips shall have destruction.” (13:3, NKJV) Ralph Wardlaw says, “As is the conversation, so is the heart.” We are in Scripture against: perverse lips, lying lips, flattering lips, deceptive lips, and undisciplined lips.
If you have done much hiking it is easy to be distracted by the surroundings instead of watching where you step. A misstep could lead one to stumble, fall, and then they could be in a world of trouble. Psalm 101:3, says to set no wicked thing before your eyes. Psalm 119:37, informs us to keep our eyes from the worthless. We should keep our gaze on our destination and not be distracted by the billboards along the way or the side roads. “The pleasures of sin and the seductions of the world do not lie in the road. They belong to the bye-paths.” (Charles Bridges) What are you looking at when you walk the road to glory? Fix your gaze on what is right and good and proper. Know your mission in life and go towards it, not turning to the side. The fruit on the tree caught Eve’s eye, and Lot’s wife decided to look back instead of looking forward to her deliverance.
Ponder your path, in other words plan carefully what you do. Dick says that, “Many people go through life without a thought about where they are heading. They live one day at a time, waiting for life to happen to them rather than planning how they might make their lives more meaningful. It is good when we are flexible enough to deal with the curves that we’re thrown in life, but it is also prudent for us to make the best use of our time while we are here.” William Arnot states, “The best time to ponder any path is not at the end, not even in the middle, but at the beginning of it.” Where are you going? The road is to heaven, but there are many side roads that lead to perdition. Life is not tip-toeing through the tulips, nor is it to party-hardy along the way. Life requires a calm and serious thinking about it.
Therefore, do not take one step off the right way. Stay steadfast on the trail that leads to heaven. Follow the sure directions from the guidebook–the Bible. If you have ever walked a precarious trail in the mountains, one that requires one foot to be placed in front of another then you should understand this verse. To step off the trail could spell disaster; it could mean being crippled or worse. Hold fast to the promises of God. Heed the words given to Joshua, “do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left…” (Joshua 1:7). Look straight ahead with honest confidence, take one step at a time under the Lord’s direction and do not deviate one degree from His direction and instruction.