Let God’s Word be Central
ICS Daily Devotions
Proverbs 3:1-4 (NKJV) My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; For length of days and long life and peace they will add to you.Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, And so find favour and high esteem In the sight of God and man.
Joshua 1:8 (NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
Like all parents who give their children good advice out of love, God wants to give us good advice because He is a good Heavenly Father. Perhaps you recall a time when you struggled to obey your parents. Do you face the same challenge in obeying God today?
Many of us are not receptive to God’s instructions and plans for our lives because we want Him to be our Saviour and not the Lord of our lives. We want to be prosperous and successful without the influence of God’s Word in our lives. There is often friction and struggle between what God asks us to do and what our flesh wants. Consequently, we often only become more open to His plan when we reach the end of ourselves.
In this passage, God offers a piece of excellent advice in a fatherly tone, addressing us as sons. We all want to live long lives while experiencing peace, but the prerequisite for peace and prosperity is ensuring that the Word of God occupies a central role in our lives. His Word should be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.
The word “peace” is shalom in Hebrew. It encompasses the absence of military conflict and the sense of prosperity. It signifies a state of “wholeness”, free from anxiety, stress, distress, or agitation.
In the Old Testament, the people of Israel were bound by the Mosaic Covenant, which included blessings and curses, as it was a conditional covenant. Therefore, there were consequences for violating God’s commandments, but blessings when they followed them. This is why God urged His people to choose life in Deuteronomy chapter 30. God wanted the best for His people and still wants the best for you and me today!
These two passages help us to understand God’s love for us through reason and logic, along with the principle of sowing and reaping the consequences of our actions. Although we now operate under the New Covenant, it doesn’t mean we won’t reap what we have sown in the flesh. If we sow to the flesh, living independently from God, we will reap corruption and the consequences. Conversely, if we sow to the Spirit, we will reap the abundant life of love, joy, peace, and everything we need without any sorrows added to it.
How blessed we are that as believers today, we can now walk in the Spirit, and be obedient to God by yielding to His leading, avoiding evil, immorality, unethical behaviour, and all the works of the flesh!
Sermon Series: Wise Saying
