Jump Start # 1476

Proverbs 16:20 “He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”

  Our passage today introduces us to two wonderful thoughts. These are essential and important in both Bible study and growing our faith. The more we do these things the greater our faith will be.

First, is to pay attention to the word. The word must be the Word of God, the Bible. Pay attention. We know what that means. Teachers say that to a students who are talking instead of listening. Not paying attention to the road has led to many car accidents. Being distracted while driving is a huge problem. Parents will say, ‘pay attention,’ as they are trying to talk seriously with their children. But here, in this passage, it is paying attention to the word.

Notice what is said. Notice the word order. Notice how God uses words. Notice why things were said. Notice the context. Look carefully. Look slowly. Give attention to the word. Give it the attention it deserves. Listen. Listen well.  There is a positive result attached to this. The one who does this will find good.

He will find the will of God. He will find what God expects and wants. He will find how to please the Lord. He will find truths. He will find ways to build quality character. Giving attention has positive benefits.

This expression, “gives attention,” reminds us that there is no short cut to learning God’s word. There is not speed dial to Bible knowledge. Staying with it. Staying at it will bring the great knowledge that supports a great faith.

Second, trust the Lord. Have faith in the Lord. Believe what He says. Know what He promises. There is great benefits in doing this. The who does is “blessed.” He is blessed because that trusting faith will lead to his salvation. That trusting faith will calm him during the storms of life. That trusting faith will give him the assurance and hope that will sustain him.

Pay attention…trust. There are some things in the Bible that are hard for us to figure out. Sometimes it’s the “how” they did it that we just don’t know. How did the apostles baptize 3,000 people in one day? How did the word spread so rapidly without Facebook, websites, printed flyers? How did so many receive the Lord’s Supper on Sunday? How did Jonah survive in the belly of a whale? How did Joseph roll the stone in front of Jesus’ grave?  How did the crowds hear Jesus without a microphone and speakers? How did 12 apostles feed more than 5,000 people? There are many “I wonder how that happened?” in our Bibles. Trust in the Lord. Sometimes the details are not given. Sometimes the details are not important to the story. t

Trust the Lord. Trust that the Lord’s way works. We don’t nor can we improve upon what God has done. We must simply trust the Lord. His way works. His way for couples works in a marriage. His way for raising children works. His way for worship works. Trust in the Lord.

Simple thoughts…give attention and trust. Those two fit well together. Those two feed each other. The more of one the greater the other will be. They are hard to separate. They are hard to do without.

Give attention and trust…in this crazy world that seems to be falling apart more and more, give attention to the word and trusting God seems to make more and more sense. It is one of the few things that we can count upon. This is something that you can do.

Roger

Jump Start # 417 

Proverbs 16:20 “He who gives attention to the word will find good, and blessed is he who trusts in the Lord.”

  Proverbs are the practical side of living the righteous life. It’s the manual of how to do it. Our verse today is interesting. The wise man is one who gives attention to the word. It is not specified what the “word” is. In some ways, he may be implying our speech and giving care to what we say and how we say it. Some folks talk without engaging their brain and as a result they always have to apologize. They would do better if they paid attention to the word.

  But some how that explanation doesn’t really seem to fit this verse. “Word” and speech are not the same and the passage ends with trusting in the Lord. We find two positive thoughts—”finding good” and being “blessed.” The connection is the word and the Lord. The wise man is pointing to the word of God. Paying attention to the Bible and trusting the Lord.

  Those two are an easy fit. God gave us the Bible. If a person believes the Bible, follows the Bible, are the not in essence trusting the Lord who wrote it?

  I want to look at the expression, “gives attention to the word.” God’s word demands not only our time and our study, but our careful look, our paying attention. We read the Bible differently than we do other things. I remember a summer school class I took in high school that developed speed reading. A book was propped up and a bright light, just the perfect size of one sentence on a page would move down the book. The student was expected to keep up with the light. As the summer progressed, the speed of the light would move faster and faster, until we could fly through a page. Often to keep up, we’d read the first and last sentence of a paragraph, and parts of the rest. By the end of the summer I could read fast. I still do on some things, but I’ve had to learn to read slowly and carefully. Reading the Bible fast isn’t good. A person can skip words, the order of words and miss the real intention of a verse.

  I read the Bible slow. I usually have a pen in hand so I can underline or circle words. Paying attention to the word is crucial. Don’t skip words, don’t fly through verses. I’m not a huge fan of read the Bible through in a year programs. I’ve done them and it’s important to read all of the Bible, but if you miss a day or two, you get so far behind that a person must read a dozen chapters to get back on schedule and then it’s keep with the schedule not so much grasping what is read.

  I’d rather a person read a few sentences a day. Think about the details. Why is it written this way? What is the passage driving at? How does it fit in the context. Details. Pay close attention to the words. Remembering. Learning. Meditating. These are the steps of knowing God’s word.

  The result is that a person will find good. They will find that God’s word leads them to good. Good behavior. Good attitudes. Good deeds. Above all, the good Lord.

  The book, “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” is an interesting thought—doesn’t work with God. Details matter. How you get there is just as important as getting there. Sweat the small stuff, it’ll do you good.

  Peter wanted brethren to “speak as the oracles of God” (4:11). That’s important. Speaking as  God speaks. Using words as God uses them. You listen to folks in a religious conversation and you can quickly tell you has been paying attention to the words. It comes out. They know what the word means. You understand God’s message. They have given time to it.

  Good advice—essential wisdom—pay attention to the details of God’s message!

Roger