Let God's Word Guard Our Lives

Pastor George Dela Rosa

My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity in your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level path for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
Proverbs 4:20-27

In this passage of the scripture, King Solomon pointed out the importance of the WORD as an active power to guard and protect our lives. He said that the WORD will be a life and health to those who find them. Those who take God’s Word to change them will find it possible when they actively feed themselves with it.  
Four points to guard our lives.

• First, we need to guard our Heart, v.23 says, above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Guarding the heart includes the mind, emotion and will. According to the Bible, the heart is the center not only of spiritual activity but of all the operation of human life. The heart is the “home of the personal life,” and a man is designated according to his heart as wise, pure, upright, good and also as foolish, bad and evil. That’s why we need to guard our heart with diligence about their content as we focus on God.
• Second is to guard our mouth (v24). Words are powerful. In the beginning, when God made His creation, He spoke the word and brought all things into being (Genesis 1). The Scripture tells us to avoid irrelevant and improper speech. Our words will carry a certain amount of power with them, whether for good or for bad. It is our responsibility to make sure they will carry the power that builds up rather than tears down, that reflect God’s glory rather than corrupts the image of God, that honors the truth rather than falsehood. So let us guard our mouth and use it properly and with extreme care.
• Third is to guard our eyes (v25). Many sins begin with the eyes. What the eyes have seen, the heart begins to crave. The eyes have great range, but they are not naturally discerning. They take in everything, and in our weakness we let them make too many demands. They can lead us to holy cravings for God, but they can also lead us in a ways of coveting and lust. That’s why we need to guard our eyes, just as we are responsible for the things that fill our hearts and the word that comes out from our mouth, we are also responsible for the gaze of our eyes. Therefore, let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.... (Heb.12:2).  
• Lastly, we need to guard our feet (v26-27). To guard our feet means to choose the right path to walk on. When the Word commands us to make level paths and to take firm ways, it is an order to follow God, to heed His wisdom and trust His guidance, no matter how foolish it looks to a watching world. It is a call to base our lives in the ultimate reality of the Scripture rather than the finite understanding of human logic. We must understand that the level and firm path are the one that are level and firm in God’s sight and not ours. So let us walk in the ways of our God.


To God be the glory!!