Everyone wants to go in the right direction in life. We all want to find ourselves in the right place emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually. It is very important to most people that they choose the right way to go so that all will turn out right for them. The right direction is so important to people that a system for getting them in the right place has been developed. It is the navigation system in an automobile.
I call her Betsy. She speaks to me from the speakers in my car and she gives me the correct direction for me to find myself at my desired destination even though I did not know the proper route to take. It is amazing how such a system works but it does. Betsy has a pleasing voce which makes one relax. Drivers are never lost as long as Betsy is on the job. “In one half mile, turn left and then bear right on Jones Road.” “After one mile your destination will be on the right.” I’m sure that most of our people have heard “Betsy” before and that they are thankful for the directions.
Getting to the right destination is very important when one is traveling, but there is a destination that is so important that we should be very thankful for God’s Guidance System for Life. We all want to make sure that we have the right destination when it comes to life. God gives us a guidance system that never leads one in the wrong direction but always leads us to what is pleasing to Him. If we would listen to His directions, we would have fewer times in life which are troubling to us. God knows our propensity to go to the wrong places and do the wrong things. He understands how we are made because He made us. God understands that we need guidance so He has given us the best system of direction in the universe.
All of God’s Word is correct and sufficient for leading us to the proper destination in life. In the Book of Proverbs, we find out how we should live and conduct ourselves in order to please Him and find ourselves at the proper destination when this life is over. Proverbs is excellent at instructing us how to conduct ourselves and how to live life properly. I am going to use a few of these scriptures in trying to point out what God’s Word says about how our journey through life should be conducted. It will also give us a good look at His Guidance System for Life. Over and over, God tells us which way to go and if we follow His guidance, life will be better by far.
If one will take a good look at Proverbs 1:7, they will begin to find out the importance of having a proper “fear” of the Lord. The word “fear” here means “reverential awe.” It does not mean that you would be frightened of the Lord although if one lives wickedly he would have every right to be afraid of what judgment the Lord might bring on him. God says that the beginning of knowledge is to be found in having the right respect for God and reverential awe of Him. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. They live by their own desires and don’t want to hear what God says. Be sure to listen to and study Proverbs 1:7.
In Proverbs chapter 2, a person is given instruction about possessing Wisdom and the importance of it. Knowledge is having information. Wisdom is knowing how to apply the knowledge one has acquired. Chapter 2 is very instructive concerning the value of wisdom. Our society is possessed with having a vast amount of knowledge but the number of people who value wisdom in our world of today is very small. Knowing how to use knowledge is wisdom and God gives us instructions on how to handle it. In the reading of Proverbs a person is told over and over again that wisdom is the greatest thing one can possess. I suggest that one reads Proverbs 2 slowly. Chew on it for a while and apply its instructions in your life. Pay close attention to verses 10-12 of chapter two. God will direct you and keep you safe when “wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul.”
Proverbs 3:11-12 informs us of the fact that “whom the Lord loves, He corrects. It also tells us not to detest the Lord’s correction. He is guiding us in the right way when we are disobedient just as we guide the children we love when they are disobedient to us. These verses also show us that His correction is a way of showing love to us. There are times when His correction is hard but we can always be sure that his actions are given to us as a sign of His Love even though we have been disobedient to him. Do you want your paths to be directed by the Lord? Then, you should read and internalize verses 5-6 in Chapter 3 as well. You will find that trusting in the Lord, listen to Him and not to yourself, acknowledging Him in all your ways will result in His leading in your life. This is a wonderful promise to all who love and trust in Him.
I want to show our readers a very important passage in Proverbs 4: 23-27. This is the way to live a good and happy life with the Lord as your guide. Keep your heart with all diligence. Put away from you a crooked mouth and perverse lips, keep your eyes looking at in the right direction (don’t look at perverse things), ponder the direction you are taking, and don’t turn to the right or left and be sure to remove your foot from evil. If one would do these things their life would be far better.
Most people want to know that when they are gone from this earth that they would have left something of value to mark the fact that they were here. They want to leave a good name which is, in actuality all we really have. Proverbs 10:7 will help you with this. God says…”The memory of the just is blessed, but the name of the wicked shall rot.” This proverb is telling us to be careful of how we live our lives on earth because this is what people will remember about you. Being right before God makes all the difference in the world and the entire Book of Proverbs is instructing us on how to live a God-honoring life which will result in the right kind of ending for us and the proper destination for eternity.
An extremely important Proverb is to be found in Chapter 22:6, the Lord tells us that it is extremely important to train one’s children properly. He expects us to do that. In our day people are told that we should let our children decide what they want to do concerning spiritual matters. But, God says that we are to train them how to live life properly before Him. This verse is politically incorrect in today’s world but it is proper where God is concerned. It actually says…”Train up a child in the way you wish you had gone yourself.” A parent might have made some mistakes but they can train their child not to do what the parent did wrong. The child can be trained in the way the parent wished they, themselves, had gone. God expects us to train our children while they are young and they will not depart from it.
So, one can see that God has given us a great Guidance System for Life and we should be sure that we follow His directions for the life that pleases Him.
