Guard rails on the road of life

Proverbs 11:5a The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight …

I was really struck by this verse this morning.  As I grow older I find myself reflecting on the events and experiences of my life and although I have regrets of bad actions and wrong decisions, I see my life as a straight road toward God and His will.  The bumps and curves are small in comparison to the over-all straightness of my life-road.  My righteousness, created in me by God when I gave my life to Him at age six, has kept me moving straight ahead.  I picture my “road” as a highway with guard rails along both sides.  The guard rails are righteousness and my vehicle is my blamelessness in Christ.  The road signs along the say show me getting closer to my destination, the heavenly city and my mansion.  The road continues on straight ahead … 

Three necessary characteristics

Proverbs 31:25a, 26a She is clothed with strength and dignity; … She speaks with wisdom.

When I think back to the women I have admired most throughout my life, I can see that each one of them were the kind of women “of noble character” (v.10) described here.  Strength, dignity and wisdom are three characteristics I have wanted to emulate in my adult life.  In these two verses I also see why these three things are so important to have.  Strength and dignity give me the confidence to face the unknown future; they enable me to “laugh at the days to come.”  Wisdom enables me to not only speak well but also to give faithful instruction.  People will have confidence in what I say if I have displayed wisdom, strength and dignity in what I have said.  If I want to leave a positive influence on those around me, I will need for God to develop strength, dignity and wisdom in my life.

Resting contentedly

Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life; then one rests content, untouched by trouble.

The fear of the Lord keeps me moving in the right direction spiritually, towards eternal life, but also towards a richer and fuller life.  Part of that richness comes in the form of rest and contentment in the face of trouble.  We are not told here, any place else in scripture for that matter, that our troubles will disappear.  But this verse says we will rest content because trouble will not touch us.  That word picture says to me that the trouble will not affect how I am able to respond to life and its events.  My fear of the Lord will give me a richness of life that will be above the troubles of life, and that will enable me to rest content in spite of any trouble.

My plans

Proverbs 16:3 Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.

I never noticed this verse before.  I was more familiar with the later verse, v.9, where it says we humans plan our course, but the Lord establishes our steps.  But here the concept goes even further, even more detailed because this verse says if I commit even my concepts for activity, the Lord will establish those plans that my heart is making and thus my steps will also be established.  It all really boils down to being totally committed to God and allowing Him to manage my life for me.  So … at the beginning of my day I say to Him, “Lord, I want to be in control of my activity for today and I want to be a blessing or an encouragement or a disciple in whatever way You ordain,” then He gives me the ideas of what I should do that day and every event or encounter will be part of His plan and part of His establishing of my steps.

Righteousness protects you

Proverbs 13:6 Righteousness guards the person of integrity, but wickedness overthrows the sinner.

There is no worry about the consequences of living righteously because that righteousness is guarding me.  I have often thought of this when driving on the highway and seeing how many brake lights go on when a patrol car show up!  If I have been putting my righteousness to work in my everyday life, I will be obeying the speed limit so my righteousness is guarding me from being given a ticket for speeding!  My righteousness guards me from being overthrown by any wickedness or sinful way of living, even more drastic things than speeding.  And that is how I want to live my life, not being afraid of being caught doing something wrong.

Binding my fingers

Proverbs 7:3 Bind them [i.e., “my word”] on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.

This verse gives me an interesting picture of what kind of response to God’s Word I should have in my own heart and life.  What does it mean to “bind” something on my fingers?  Several pictures come to my mind:

1. tying a string around your finger to remember something;
2. wearing rings to adorn yourself or to display a special relationship with someone;
3. wearing gloves to protect or to warm your hands/fingers.

All of these pictures, when looked at through spiritual eyes, signify ways that God wants His Word to affect us:

1. never forget it;
2. let it show to others;
3. let people see God in us;
4. let it protect us from evil;
5. let it bring spiritual warmth to our lives.

Then, finally, if it is written on our hearts it will have a presence and effect on our lives that will be unaffected by outside influences.  We cannot be drawn away by sin.  I definitely want to have the Word bound on my fingers.