Dwell | ProverbsShembull

Ponder the Path

Introduction

Hi, this is Jon, and welcome to Dwell.

For the next few minutes, I invite you to join me as we recenter upon the Lord by opening our hearts to hear from him through the words of Scripture.

Thanks for joining us.

Silence

As we begin, let's sit in silence for a moment, seeking to be attentive to the presence of God, the one in whom we live and move and have our being.

Passage

Now listen as I read Proverbs 4:25-27

Let your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

Ponder the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.(ESV)

Exhortation

Today, we're invited to reflect upon the timeless wisdom of the book of Proverbs, in which we are instructed to keep our eyes straight and true, looking ahead and not swerving to the right or to the left. These words are echoed throughout Scripture, with Hebrews inviting us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer, and perfecter of our faith,” or even St. Paul in Philippians “pressing on toward the goal to win the prize."

Yet I encourage you to explore another side of this Proverb more deeply today. Not only are we to look ahead and avoid distractions and temptations, we are called to “ponder the path of our feet.”

If you’re not walking on the right path, then it does you no good to stay the course! From time to time, careful evaluation is needed to ensure that we are headed in the direction that we want to go, that guides us into places of rest and peace.

While most of life should be spent with our heads up, looking ahead toward the goal, don’t neglect the equally important work of self-reflection and honest evaluation, pondering the path that you are on so that, in the words of today’s passage, “all your ways will be sure.”

Active Response

Now, I'd like to invite you to turn this Proverb into a short-breath prayer to Jesus.

In the silence of your heart, say: "I long to follow You," breathing in as you do. Then, again, in silent prayer, say: “You are my path," and breathe out.

Take 30 seconds to do that now, offering this prayer as a gift to Jesus:

I long to follow You; You are my path.

Begin now.

Closing Prayer

May the seeds of your love, O Lord, be sown in our hearts, and may they bear much fruit in us. Amen.

Outro

Now, go in peace, and let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.