Proverbs 3:1-12; Ps. 32:8-11, The Traveller’s Trailblazer

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January 28, Proverbs 3:1-12; Ps. 32:8-11

Matt. 7:13-20; Jn. 4:34; 8:12, 29; 1 Thess. 3:11; 5:6 The only safe way is the faith way.

The Traveller’s Trailblazer

To acknowledge God (v.6) means simply knowing (so Hebrew) Him, always living in His presence, enjoying daily fellowship with Him. Such a knowledge leads to true blessedness (Ps. 9:10; Phil. 3:10). Here once again there are two different words for way (road) and path (rut). They are sometimes synonymous, but the second word is from a root meaning to wander, suggesting by-paths. It is not only wise but also necessary to consult a road map while travelling in unknown lands. If you do, the less likely you are to lose your way. Thus, the more you acknowledge (know) the Lord, the more you will be preserved from going astray into dangerous by-paths.

  1. An All-Encompassing Plea: All thy ways (v.6) follows with all thy heart (v.5). Christian, you must always acknowledge your Lord, not just when it is easy. We are to take up our Cross daily. This demands a personal, disciplined, devotional life. a. The Chart: We must study God’s Word. That’s where His Instructions come from. How is it that we sometimes say we are praying for God’s will on a matter, when God has already stated His mind on it clearly in His Word? Do we expect God to sanction what we’ve already decided? If we are truly seeking God’s will and way, the guidance will not be far off. b. The Compass: We must be sensitive to the Spirit. That’s how His confirmations come. Avoid those who claim new revelations and visions not according to God’s revealed Word. God directs His dear children by His written Word and indwelling Holy Spirit. God may lead in strange ways to prove us, like He did Joseph or Paul. He can use the grace of fear as well as the grace of faith, but no believing prayer will end in regret (Job. 23:10-12). In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength (Isa. 30:15).
  2. An All-Encouraging Prospect: He shall direct thy paths (v.6). Joshua erred in the midst of prosperity by not asking counsel from the Lord (Jos. 9:14-15). a. A Guided Way: We must daily trust God’s power to remove all obstacles. God seldom guides those who follow afar off, but he does reveal His way to the one whose delight is in the law of the Lord. To direct is to make straight or plain, to point out and thus open a way even through the desert (Isa. 40:3). “He leadeth me, O blessed thought” (Ps. 23:3). b. A Guarded Way: What a comfort to know that the Christian way is also a guarded way. We are not left to grope in the dark or lose our way. That promise to direct secures safety amid all storms and confidence amid all sorrows. When difficulties come, Go forward! God has prepared the way; mountains are made low; rivers will not overflow thee; the lions are chained; deserts shall bloom and blossom as the rose. “This injunction is aimed, not at the speculative atheism which denies that there is a God, but at the much more common practical ungodliness which keeps Him at a distance from human affairs” (Arnot).

Thought: The hand that bears all nature up shall guide His children well (Doddridge).

Prayer: Lord, that I might sense Thy presence in all my daily affairs.