4:1 When we turn our ears to God to hear instruction, we do not just turn ourselves to an authority or a counselor or even simply a friend. We turn ourselves to a Father, to a God who has created and loved His children with precision and emphasis. The instruction He gives us is expert advice given by someone with our best interests at heart.
4:2-6 We are urged to follow the doctrine of God, the law He gives, because it is given as protection, inspiration and guidance. We have to learn to trust God when He says no, not yet and even yes to things we might have turned down. We must trust because His wisdom builds the blessing around us we ultimately want.
4:7-9 Our first priority must be to follow the wisdom of God's will. We only damage ourselves when we rush or resent circumstances that seem not to satisfy our impatience. A life of loving and following God is a life that is secure in the exact place He wants it to be. When our life is on course with God's will, everything we have prayed for is in process.
Trust in God's wisdom promotes us into better places as better people. Love of God's will develops the honor and grace and glory we think we know how to obtain. By valuing God's wisdom, we gain an understanding of life that prevents us from wasting our lives. We learn how to live with purpose and compassion within the protective wings of God.
4:10-13 Live a life of prayer. Allow God to speak and respond to you throughout the day, and care for you even as you sleep. When our line of communication is so open, so constantly, God is able to direct all of our steps on the right paths. When we need to make a decision and even when we do not, meditation on Him and His word will help us come to peaceful solutions and inspired ideas.
God's advice, throughout the day, is spoken to each of us in subtle yet intimate and definite ways. Because He loves us, He wants us to cling to Him, our best protection. He will help us navigate life and avoid the bumps that cause us to stumble. Over time, our love for Him develops so much that He becomes our life. The life within us, the reason to cherish it.
4:14-17 What does God consider wicked? Acts which harm others in order to promote selfish desires, temptations and urges. Recognize that temptation is a slave-master and wants us as its slave. Instead, God trains us to live humbly in service of others' needs. When we are so focused on promoting justice and ensuring compassion, God ensures that we are cared for. God takes responsibility of our lives when we commit to loving others well and actively.
To live as a slave to selfish desires and emotions, greed and anger, is to live a life which causes turmoil and injustice. When we live only for ourselves, we neglect the life in on earth that needs what skills and resources we have to share.
4:18 But to live as a child of God is a life lived in light. God is the sun giving us life, the stars that give us inspiration. He is a light that is wisdom. He is a clear and lighted path. He helps us to discern and perceive the good and the bad.
4:19 But to live in darkness is to be oblivious to the things which mount up and cause our steady destruction.
4:20-21 That is why it is so important to God that we read Proverbs with intention and commitment. Because it is so important that our ears are attentive to God's voice above all others, that our eyes are fixed on His. God's word must be in our heart, defending it and preventing all of the corruption from entering.
4:22 Our relationship with God supports our health and well-being. It only makes sense that we could be diligent students of this word. Our relationship with God creates and continues to create new pockets of inspired life within our life: new blessings all of our days.
4:24 God wants us to live with attention and intention. He wants us to be aware of our movements and interactions and ideas so that we can ensure they each align with His word. As we continue to walk along His straight path of righteousness, we are established on earth and in the everlasting kingdom of God. We are reminded that there are distractions in the world and we must not allow them to deter us!
