‘He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray.’
(Proverbs 10:17)
LORD Jesus, we praise You for free access to the Bible. Forgive us, O God, we pray, whenever we fail to spend time reading and studying Your Word. Guide us, O precious LORD, to manage our time well, and help us find that special place where we can meet and hear from You daily. In Jesus’ wonderful name, we pray. Amen.
Where and how do we find the right instructions?
In the Bible
Remember my blog post, God’s Word in 2023 ? Back then, I urged you to, ‘Make it a habit to read your Bible.’ We need to set aside time and make it a habit to read our Father’s Instructions. Beloved, it is so important, vital for our lives, that we spend time in God’s Word.
Read the Bible
And, yes, how often is time an issue for us not to read the Word? We are so busy with life. One thing is finally dealt with, then something else pops up to occupy our minds. Beloved, things will keep entering our lives, and so there will never be something called ‘A perfect time’ to read the Bible. If the reading of God’s Word is important enough to us, however, we will have to make the time for it!
A Reason Not To Read the Bible
Satan hates the Truth because he is the ‘father of lies,’ and so he wants to keep you away from God’s Word. Most of all, he wants you to doubt it. It’s an old trick which he uses ever since the Garden of Eden, and he will ask you, ‘Has God really said that… ?’
Do Not Question God’s Truth
Then what? Will you know where to turn to find the answers? Or will you give in and question God’s Word? True, some parts of the Bible might be hard to understand and believe – at first. We can always wait on the LORD and bring our request before Him in prayer.
James 1:5 says,
‘If any of you lacks wisdom,
let him ask of God,
who gives to all liberally and without reproach,
and it will be given to him.’
The next verse (6) in James 1 warns us that we need to ask in faith and without doubting.
How many times do we avoid asking in faith because we are afraid of God’s answer? Will it go against our own will? It might. Could the Way we should go be a totally different one than the way we long to go?
Let us read today’s verse again,
‘He who keeps instruction is in the way of life,
But he who refuses correction goes astray.’
(Proverbs 10:17)
Matthew Henry comments on this verse,
That those are in the right that do not only receive instruction, but retain it, that do not let it slip through carelessness, as most do, nor let it go to those that would rob them of it, that keep instruction safely, keep it pure and entire, keep it for their own use, that they may govern themselves by it, keep it for the benefit of others, that they may instruct them; those that do so are in the way of life, the way that has true comfort in it and eternal life at the end of it.
He goes on to explain why the others will not receive instruction,
They will not be taught their duty because it discovers their faults to them; that instruction which carries reproof in it they have a particular aversion to, and certainly they err;
Hear the Instruction of your Father, and make decisions based upon God’s Word today.