“Hear, my son, and accept my sayings, And the years of your life will be many. 11I have instructed you in the way of [skillful and godly] wisdom; I have led you in upright paths. 12When you walk, your steps will not be impeded [for your path will be clear and open]; And when you run, you will not stumble. Take hold of instruction; [actively seek it, grip it firmly and] do not let go. Guard her, for she is your life.” Proverbs 4:10-12 AMP
AS we continue or discussion about the gift of the Holy Spirit and how to communicate with Him, we find this instruction on the book of Proverbs. Fron the first verse through verse 13 Solomon emphasizes the importance of keeping the Word of God in sight. The words he uses are full of strength and challenge. Words like, hear, pay attention, intelligent discernment, hold fast, actively seek, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation. WOW! Those seem to be the very thing that is missing from our society today! It all culminates at verse 13, DO NOT LET GO!!!
There are many benefits of holding fast to the Word of God. The rewards are clearly listed, long life, skillful wisdom, upright paths, a clear path, and no stumbling! Many of us that have been through a recovery process can cling to the promise that if we stay focused on God, we can make it without stumbling. That doesn’t menat that there aren’t battles along the way. The Scripture is clear that our enemy is seeking to destroy our lives thorough our past addictions.
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God [set aside self-righteous pride], so that He may exalt you [to a place of honor in His service] at the appropriate time, 7casting all your cares [all your anxieties, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares about you [with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully]. 8Be sober [well balanced and self-disciplined], be alert and cautious at all times. That enemy of yours, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion [fiercely hungry], seeking someone to devour. 9But resist him, be firm in your faith [against his attack–rooted, established, immovable], knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being experienced by your brothers and sisters throughout the world. [You do not suffer alone.]” 1 Peter 5:6-9 AMP
Do you see it? The path to victory starts with surrender! Peter reminds us that the path to victory starts with “…humble yourselves…” It takes losing our pride to admit that we cannot do this thing called life on our own. That was what man into this mess to begin with! This is why we should always be seeking the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives daily. Jesus was so concerned for the disciple’s well-being after His departure that He told them to go and wait for the gift OF the Holy Spirit. The challenge in our verse today is asking us if we hear and accept what God is saying to us? If we continue to walk in the pride of our heart the end will not be good! Scriputre declares that before we fall pride is the issue!
“Through pride and presumption come nothing but strife, But [skillful and godly] wisdom is with those who welcome [well-advised] counsel.” Proverbs 13:10 AMP
Let me ask you today, are you stiffing your neck against the Word of God or are you willing open to hear the truth and respond accordingly? Life is hard enough as it is without ignoring the power we can have through the Word of God. Allow the Holy Spirit to reform your life and create something beautiful from our brokenness and strife! Have a humble day! Pastor Ken