Proverbs 3 … Consider His Path of Peace

Originally posted: 12/27/2020

My son, do not forget my teaching,
But let your heart keep my commandments;
² For length of days and years of life
And peace they will add to you…
¹⁷ Her ways are pleasant ways
And all her paths are peace, (3:1-2, 17).

Out of curiosity, I did a quick internet search for quotes on peace. Oh, I found plenty; and most of them were absolutely futile, presenting advice to create mental peace in and of ourselves. But if that was all it took, wouldn’t we all just live in a constant state of tranquility and serenity?

But there is One Who is able to bestow peace; and if we will remember His teaching and keep His commandments, He will guide us through this life on His Path of Peace.

Consider His Path of Peace

Peace; it can seem so evasive, when we attempt to muster it up in and of ourselves. But, when we trust Jesus Christ for our salvation, then He Himself is our Peace; and as we trust Him and His Word, we can trust His life in us to lead us and keep us on His Path of Peace.

The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace,
Because he trusts in You, (Isaiah 26:3).

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, (Romans 5:1).

But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴ For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, (Ephesians 2:13-14).

• His Path of Peace is the way of faith and trust.
  • Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    And do not lean on your own understanding, (3:5).

• His Path of Peace is the way of praise and worship.
  • In all your ways acknowledge Him,
    And He will make your paths straight, (3:6).

• His Path of Peace is the way of humility in the fear of the Lord.
  • Do not be wise in your own eyes;
    Fear the Lord and turn away from evil, (3:7).

• His Path of Peace is the way of wisdom and understanding.
  • How blessed is the man who finds wisdom
    And the man who gains understanding, (3:13).

• His Path of Peace is the way of confidence in the Lord.
  • Do not be afraid of sudden fear
    Nor of the onslaught of the wicked when it comes;
    ²⁶ For the Lord will be your confidence
    And will keep your foot from being caught, (3:25-26).

• His Path of Peace is the way of the upright.
  • For the devious are an abomination to the Lord;
    But He is intimate with the upright, (3:32).

• His Path of Peace is the way of grace and honor.
  • Though He scoffs at the scoffers,
    Yet He gives grace to the afflicted.
    ³⁵ The wise will inherit honor,
    But fools display dishonor, (3:34-35).

How do we respond to His Path of Peace?

As we contemplate and trust Jesus Christ as our only Path of Peace, Proverbs 3 can guide us in our response. Today, let’s take time to meditate on the principles that emulate from our risen Lord that will keep us on His Path of Peace.

• Let us remember and obey His commandments.
  • My son, do not forget my teaching,
    But let your heart keep my commandments; (3:1).
    • “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. ⁵⁰ I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me,” (John 12:49-50).

• Let us commit to kindness and truth, whether or not it’s convenient.
  • Do not let kindness and truth leave you;
    Bind them around your neck,
    Write them on the tablet of your heart; (3:3).
    • even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), ⁶ and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, ⁷ so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:5-7).

• Let us honor the Lord with our giving.
  • Honor the Lord from your wealth
    And from the first of all your produce; (3:9).
    • “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again. ¹⁸ No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father,” (John 10:17-18).

• Let us accept discipline from our Loving Father.
  • My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord
    Or loathe His reproof,
    ¹² For whom the Lord loves He reproves,
    Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights, (3:11-12).
    • who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, (Philippians 2:6-8).

• Let us be willing to share with those in need.
  • Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,
    When it is in your power to do it, (3:27).
    • “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,” (John 3:16).

• Let us be peacemakers, that we might be known as a child of God.
  • Do not contend with a man without cause,
    If he has done you no harm, (3:30).
    • “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God,” (Matthew 5:9).

• Let us not be worried or lured by the ways of the world, but let us find our peace and contentment in Christ alone.
  •  Do not envy a man of violence
    And do not choose any of his ways, (3:31).
    • “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).

Let us practice what we have learned and received and heard and seen in His Living Word. And as we do, we can trust Him to be with us to rule in our hearts. Oh, let us daily be thankful that He has called us and that He will be faithful to keep us on His Path of Peace.

The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you, (Philippians 4:9).

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful, (Colossians 3:15).

Let’s Grow Together!