The Wisdom of God, Proverbs 3:21-24

By Crossmap

21 "My son, let not them depart from thine eyes: keep sound wisdom and discretion: 22 So shall they be life unto thy soul, and grace to thy neck. 23 Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble. 24 When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet." (Proverbs 3:21-24 NIV)

These verses tell us to keep God's laws and commandments from the heart. We know we can only do this as we keep a close relationship with Jesus, and call on the power of the Holy Spirit to keep and obey them. One way that we maintain this kind of relationship is by doing what verse 21 tells us to do -- that is, to keep God's Words before our eyes. That means we must read and study the Bible daily; then, if we keep sound wisdom, we will obey those Words and use discretion in this life.

Verse 22 tells us that doing this will bring life to our soul. The soul of man is his mind, emotions and his will. Man is a spirit who has a soul and lives in a body. The physical body is only the house or temple that holds the real man. The real man (or woman) is the "spirit man." The Greek word for spirit is "pneuma" or "breath.'' The "spirit man" is unseen with the natural eye, but is the hidden or inward man. This is the part of man that is referred to in Scripture as the heart of man. It is the sphere of divine influence. "But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price'' (I Peter 3:4). The spirit man, being the real man, will live eternally. He will possess a soul and a body, but in essence the spirit will rule over the other two. When we are born again we will live eternally with Christ in heaven. If we reject Christ we will exist eternally in hell.

In the light of this, if we build up the spirit man through feeding on the Word of God and obeying it, in time, we will have healthy emotions, a sound mind and healthy bodies. The Lord promises us His grace to overcome in this life and also many other blessings. Among these blessings is the promise of safety and His grace to keep us from falling.

Another wonderful blessing that is promised to us as Christians, is the gift of sweet sleep. So many people are not able to lie down and rest at night, because their minds have been filled with so much trash. They have allowed it to enter their minds through bad books, T.V., movies, etc. People are experiencing anguish with tormenting dreams and nightmares. Sleep is not peaceful and restful as God intended, rather, it is a restless and fearful time. Some people are worried and anxious and the cares of this life keep them from their rest. Many people must even use prescription drugs to sleep. Although this may be a temporary help, if we ask God to deliver us from the root problem that is causing the sleeplessness, we can have His promise of sweet sleep.

Proverbs 3:1 "My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments."

Prayer for the Day:

Dear Father in Heaven, I am so grateful to be Your child and I thank you for your wonderful promises to me. Thank you for the encouraging Words found in the Bible. I do want to walk in Your wisdom. Open my understanding to Your Words and then give me the grace to obey them. Help me to be able to cast all my cares upon you, when I am tempted to worry or fret over my problems. I do appreciate being able to lie down and have a restful night's sleep. Thank you also for soundness of mind and body. Help me to share with others this day about Your goodness. I ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Used with Permission

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