Devotional Series Sep 14-17
This Devotional Series is based on a message delivered on Sep 13, 2026, and can be viewed at: https://www.kallamgrove.org/messages/two-roads/
With the word “hear”, the father isn’t simply asking his children to listen to information.
Proverbs 4:1-2
“Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight, for I give you good precepts; do not forsake my teaching.”
Proverbs begins this chapter with the simple picture of a father sitting down with his children and passing wisdom to them. There is something important about the word “hear.” The father isn’t simply asking his children to listen to information. He is asking them to pay attention because what he is giving them will shape how they live. We often think wisdom comes from experience, and experience certainly teaches us things. But one of the great gifts of wisdom is that we don’t have to learn everything the hard way. We can learn from people who have already walked the road.
That is one reason God gives us Scripture, and it is also one reason relationships across generations are important. Older Christians have wisdom younger Christians need. Younger Christians need the humility to listen, and older Christians have the responsibility to pass along what they have learned.
Reflection Question: Is there someone whose wisdom you would benefit from listening to more carefully?
Lord, give me humility to listen to wise instruction and wisdom to pass along what you have taught me. Amen.
The language here is striking; listen to my words, incline your ear, keep them within your heart.
Proverbs 4:20-22
“My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.”
The language here is striking. Listen. Incline your ear. Keep them within your heart. We live in a world competing constantly for our attention. Phones, news, entertainment, work, responsibilities and a thousand other things can fill our minds. The problem isn’t necessarily that these things are bad. The problem is that they can become so loud that we stop listening to God.
The father tells his son not to let wisdom “escape” from his sight. In other words, don’t assume that hearing God’s truth once is enough. Keep coming back to it. Keep it in front of you. Verse 22 gives the reason: God’s words are “life” to those who find them. What receives your attention will eventually shape you. If we continually give our attention to the things of God, they begin to shape the way we think, desire, and live.
Reflection Question: What currently receives most of your attention, and is it shaping you in the direction you want to go?
Lord, help me give your Word enough attention that it continually shapes my heart and my life. Amen.
What we say and what we look at matter.
Proverbs 4:24-25
“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.”
After spending much of the chapter talking about our path, Proverbs gets very practical. What we say and what we look at matter. Our words reveal something about what is happening inside us. A person can appear wise on the outside while constantly speaking dishonestly, cruelly, or deceptively. And then there is the instruction to look straight ahead. That is another picture of focused living. Don’t constantly look around at what everyone else is doing. Don’t let every distraction pull you off course.
There is a connection between our attention and our direction. What we repeatedly look at and what we repeatedly say are not insignificant. They are helping form the person we are becoming. Wisdom isn’t only about the big decisions. It shows up in conversations, attitudes, and the things we allow to capture our attention.
Reflection Question: What do your words and what you give your attention to reveal about the direction of your heart?
Lord, help me guard my words and my attention so that both reflect your wisdom. Amen.
An invitation to stop and think about where we are going – “Ponder the path of your feet.”
Proverbs 4:26-27
“Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
The chapter ends this section with an invitation to stop and think about where we are going.
“Ponder the path of your feet.”
That is a good practice for all of us. We can become so busy living that we rarely stop to ask where our lives are actually headed. Am I becoming more patient or more impatient? More generous or more self-centered? More trusting of God or more dependent on myself? More loving toward people or more easily irritated by them? None of those changes usually happen overnight. They happen gradually.
That means we should occasionally step back and examine the direction of our lives. Not simply, “Did I do something wrong today?” but, “Where is this pattern taking me?” The good news is that noticing our direction gives us an opportunity to change it. We don’t have to keep walking in the same direction simply because we’ve been walking that way for a long time.
Reflection Question: If you continue living the way you are living today, where do you think your life will be a year from now?
Lord, help me to honestly examine the direction of my life and give me courage to turn when I am heading away from you. Amen.