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Trust in the Lord: Wisdom That Guides Our Paths
September 1, 2026 · 14 min
Proverbs 3–4: trust God wholly, lean not on self, and let Scripture direct your steps with reverence and obedience.
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Wisdom from God's Law: Benefits and Blessings 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Today, Proverbs chapters 3 and 4, verse 5 of chapter 3, Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own0:22 understanding. You would be hard pressed to find more practical guidance for life than what we have in today's reading in chapters 3 and 4 of Proverbs. Now, in verses 1 through0:34 10, we read about God's wisdom, which comes from his law, his commandments, what that wisdom leads to, and how we can obtain it. At verse0:45 1, chapter 3, 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 them0:57 around your neck. Write them on the tablet of your heart. And so, find favor and high esteem in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.1:09 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. That word fear means reverence, it means honor, that means1:21 yield to. And it will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones. Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the 1st fruits of all your increase, so1:32 your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine. The wisdom of God, which flows from his law, his commands, basically his word,1:44 leads to, look at this list, number 1, your life not being cut short. I mean, think about it. I can recall this as a police officer. Foolishness and ungodly living is not associated with long life. Peace,1:56 looking for peace? Yield to the word and the ways of God. Favor with God and man? Now that does not mean that there will not be conflict. There was constant conflict surrounding2:08 Jesus. But those whose eyes were opened wanted to be around him. And scripture tells us that the father was well pleased with Jesus, and that's what we should be living for, is to2:20 please the Father, not the world. Getting direction from God? You're looking for direction? Well, look to the word of God, departure from evil. There's no better way to avoid the pitfalls of life than2:32 to be in the word of God and following His ways. Health? Yes, following the Lord comes with health benefits. Provision? The wisdom of the word has tangible2:44 benefits. You say, how? Well, let me give you just 1. We're gonna look at this later in Proverbs, but chapter 22 verse 7, the rich rules over the poor, and the borrower's servant to the lender. Now that does not mean you2:54 cannot take out a loan, but it means don't live in debt. Avoid unnecessary debt. Do not live beyond your means being in bondage to those who you owe money to. Now, with the list3:06 we just went through, we have a heart check next. Look at verse 11. My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, nor detest his correct his correction. For whom3:18 the Lord loves, he corrects, just as a father the son in whom he delights. See, the word of God is often part of his correction. Question is, are we listening?3:31 If not, and I can speak to this from experience, if not, the chastening will intensify. Why? But do we feel like God is angry with us? God doesn't love3:42 us? The opposite, the opposite is because if you are a child of God, He loves you too much to allow you to keep moving in the wrong direction.Embracing God's Correction and Diligence 3:55 So what's required on our part to benefit from the wisdom of God? Are you ready? It's also here in these 1st 12 verses. I would sum it up in 2 words: diligence and4:07 intentionality. Alright? Remember, do not forget the word of God. That, of course, means we must 1st know it because you can't forget what you don't know. So we need to be in the word of God. We need to know the word of4:17 God. And that's what comes next. Bind them around your neck. Bind the principles of scripture. Know them. Take them with you. If it's around your neck, what is it? It's valuable.4:30 Write them on your heart. Inscribe it on your heart. Trust in the Lord, not yourself. Acknowledge Him, meaning make Him Lord of your life. Fear Him, as I made reference to earlier.4:41 That's reverencing him, yielding to him. Honor him. And then be open to correction from him. Allow the Holy Spirit to correct you. In verses, 13 through4:53 26, we read more of the power and the blessing of this wisdom that comes from the word of God. Verse 13. Happy or blessed is the man who finds wisdom and the man who gains understanding, for her proceedsThe Priceless Value and Power of Wisdom 5:05 are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. See, I'll take the fellowship5:17 with God over the fluctuating nature of gold. Verse 13, length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all5:29 her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy, blessed are all who retain her. The lord by wisdom founded the earth.5:41 By understanding, he established the heavens. By his knowledge, the depths were broken up and clouds dropped down the dew. You see, the same wisdom that created the5:52 heavens and the earth is available to us, to live by. I mean, think about that for a moment. The more that scientists discover, the more they discover about6:04 creation, the more they understand the intricate design and how remarkable it is, and they acknowledge it couldn't have just happened. So think about that. The 1 who created all of this, the 1 who6:16 causes the sun to rise every morning, the 1 who made our bodies, created all of life. He's given us the guidebook. He's given us the owner's manual to6:28 life and how to live. It's a road map. Verse 21, my son, let them not depart from your eyes. Keep sound wisdom and discretion, so they will be life to your soul and6:40 grace to your neck. Then you will walk safely in your way, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid. Yes, you will lie down, and your sleep will be sweet. Do not be afraid6:52 of sudden terror, nor of trouble from the wicked when it comes. For the Lord will be your confidence, and will keep your foot from being caught. You see, living in and by the word of God, we7:03 don't have to fear. We don't have to fear what we don't know. We don't have to fear what might happen. We can trust and rest in God. Next, we're told to share the blessings of God. So it's not,7:15 we're not reservoirs, we're to be rivers. Verse 27, Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so. So when God7:27 gives us the ability and the opportunity to do good to someone else, to bless them, then we're to do it. Maybe that's as simple as a as an encouraging word. We don't have to be stingyShare Blessings and Avoid Envy 7:39 with our words of encouragement, our our words of comp our compliments. Now we're not to be flippant with that, but we're to invest in others and and and bless them as God gives us the opportunity. Do not say7:51 to your neighbor, go and come back, and tomorrow I will give it when you have it with you today. Do not devise evil against your neighbor, for he dwells by you for safety's sake. Do not strive with a man without cause if8:03 he has done you no harm. We need to show the better way, not in just words, but in our actions. And don't get sidetracked, alright, by looking around8:14 you rather than looking at the word of God. When you find yourself on 1 of life's valleys, you know, we looked at this with David, that question that comes up, why do the wicked prosper? Look,8:27 don't look at at the at at the wicked and their prosperity. Look at the word of God. Look at verse 31. Do not envy the oppressor and choose none of his ways. For the perverse person is an8:38 abomination to the Lord, but his secret counsel is with the upright. The curse of the Lord is on the house of the wicked, but he blesses the home of the just. I want the blessing of God. Surely,8:50 he scorns the scornful, but gives grace to the humble. The wise shall inherit glory, but shame shall be the legacy of fools. Get wisdom. Get understanding. Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my9:02 mouth. In other words, stay focused on the words and the ways of God. Don't get distracted by what you think the other person is enjoying or how God how9:14 they might not God, but how they might be prospering. You may think it's being prospered. Do you know the old saying, The grass looks greener on the other side of the fence? Don't trust in what your eyes9:26 see. Trust in what the word of God says. Alright. Chapter 4 verse 1. Hear, my children, the instructions of a father and give attention to no understanding, for I give you good doctrine. Do not forsake my9:38 law. When I was my father's son, tender and the only 1 in the sight of my mother, he also taught me and said to me, let your heart retain my words, keep my commands, and live. Now, I've read this9:50 as I mentioned yesterday, I've read Proverbs, I don't even know how many times, hundreds, hundreds of times, confident, hundreds of times, if not thousands. But I I I10:02 saw this really kind of for the 1st time. This notice this generational instruction. His father taught him. He was teaching his son, and he was anticipating his son would teach his10:13 son, his children. And this is biblical. It's what Moses said, that we're to teach our children as we rise up, as we walk in the way, as we sit down. We're to be don't wait for someone else to teach your10:25 children. It's not the school's responsibility. It's not the church's responsibility. It's not the Sunday school teacher. It's not the pastor. It's you. We we are to be imparting this instruction, this knowledge.10:37 Get wisdom. Get understanding. Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her. Of course, this presupposes that we, as fathers, as mothers,10:50 as husbands, as wives, are 1st living are in the word of God. We can't teach. We can't impart what we don't have, and that's why it's so important that we're in the word of God living by example. It doesn't mean we're11:02 perfect. It doesn't mean we won't stumble, But it means that we are showing the way. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve her. Love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing. Therefore,Guard Your Heart: Generational Wisdom 11:14 get wisdom, and in all you're getting, get understanding. Now, through verse 13, it's kind of a restatement of sorts of what we read in chapter 3, then there is this warning about who11:26 we associate with. Verse 14, Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it, turn away from it, and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil, and11:37 their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the vine wine of violence, but the path of the just is like the shining sun that11:49 shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. The way of the wicked is like darkness. They do not know what makes them stumble. You see, you cannot walk safely and secure in the dark.12:01 So walk in the light. That's what we've been given. We've been given a spotlight, a lamp for our feet and our path. Here's some very here's some more very good advice. Verse 23,12:13 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it, that is your heart, spring the issues of life. Look at this, verse 24, Put away from you a deceitful mouth, and put perverse lips far from12:25 you. Let your eyes look straight ahead and your eyelids look right before you. Ponder the path of your feet and let all of your ways be established. Do not turn to the right or to the left. Remove your foot from12:37 evil. This is so important. We're to keep our hearts from with all diligence, meaning intentionality. We're to guard our hearts. So the question is, what are we12:48 allowing into our hearts? What are we watching? What are we listening to? What are we meditating upon? Because that's what's going to come out of our mouth. Jesus said that. And and so if we're to put this, away a12:59 deceitful mouth and perverse lips, then we need to be careful about what we're letting in. Consider well the path you choose to walk down and the decisions you make. Examine13:10 it all according to the word of God. What great advice for living. Father, we thank you for your word. So grateful, Lord, that you've given us this instruction. You've given us13:22 this instruction. You've given us this guidance. Lord, and I just pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to use it to even point out those areas in our lives, Lord, that we may not see, that we would13:34 come in alignment with your word. Lord, we wanna walk as blessed people, as happy in the Lord because of your blessing. We thank you for that. Continue to guide us on this journey. Use your word in13:46 us and through us to reach those around us. For we pray this in Jesus' name, amen. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:58 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:10 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Wisdom from God's Law: Benefits and Blessings3:44 Embracing God's Correction and Diligence5:00 The Priceless Value and Power of Wisdom7:28 Share Blessings and Avoid Envy11:10 Guard Your Heart: Generational Wisdom
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