Devotions: Guide Your Heart

Listen, my son, and be wise,
And direct your heart in the way.

Proverbs 23:19 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

How is a person to be wise? How is one to keep from stumbling? The first directive here is to listen. What a person listens to is only half of the matter. If a person hears but doesn’t listen they gain nothing. We must pay attention and discern what is said. We must apply what is said and learn from it. That is the difference between wisdom and knowledge. Many have great knowledge, but if they do not use it or apply it it is meaningless. It is not enough to merely read the Bible, or even to study it, we must discern what is said and apply it, live by it. In being wise, one must observe and live by the wisdom gleaned. Proverbs talks about those who are wise, like the ant who works diligently to make a home and stock provision. She doesn’t slack in the day of plenty but works steadily through the seasons. We are commanded to observe her, learn and be wise.
Another part of being wise is staying the course. Part of wisdom is following wisdom and not being led astray by feelings and emotions, or tempting ideas. Not that ideas, feelings or emotions are bad in themselves, but they are not to trump God’s wisdom. The heart is deceptive, it lies and can be led astray. It is not a true or reliable guide. Rather than following our hearts, we must lead our hearts like a wayward child who is not bad but is also not wise. In God’s ways alone are wisdom and truth. We must weigh everything against them and if anything is at all contradictory to them it must be rejected. We must find wisdom and use it to guide our selves and our hearts. Listen, be wise, follow the true Guide!