Theology and Practical Application, part 6 – True Security in Life – Proverbs 3:23

Then you will walk in your way securely And your foot will not stumble.
​Proverbs 3:23

In today's world people crave security.  They have security cameras, security systems that monitor doors and windows, and some even have security guards to keep them safe.  The problem with all this is eventually you are going to have to leave your home or workplace - where you will have to walk around and experience a lifestyle outside of the secure parameters that you try to set up for yourself.  One thing that the person who understands the fall of mankind from a Scriptural perspective is that one of the most dangerous people in our lives is . . . wait for it . . . ourselves!  How can we hire a security detail to guard us against our own sinful tendencies?

What will guard us from ourselves - as well as provide protection from other outside threats is wisdom.  This verse points all the way back to verse 21 and ultimately back to verse 13.  Both these verses tell us that we need to keep wisdom foremost in our thinking as well as in our vision.  When we set our sights on wisdom, desiring to have not just wisdom, but understanding and discretion in where we go, what we do, and what we say - we will learn that we are placing ourselves in the best security net possible.

Wisdom will help us to "walk in our way securely."  Walk is the Hebrew word "halak" and it refers metaphorically to the pathways and behavior of one's life.  When we choose pathways and behavior that manifests God's wisdom - we are choosing a very secure lifestyle and pathway.  The security spoken of here (the Hebrew word is "betah") means a calm assurance.  It speaks of an assurance and safety that comes from knowing that you have God's protection.  It speaks of having a security in God that keeps us from being too self-assured that we become careless. 

We are told that when we walk this way in God's wisdom that our foot will not stumble.  We stumble because we do not see something in our path that might cause us to trip and fall.  Scripture calls these things stumbling blocks - as well as the sin that might trip us up in life.  When we walk according to God's Word in both theology as well as practical insight and wisdom - these trip cords and stumbling blocks are illumined to us so that we avoid them and do not find ourselves tripped up by them. 

Want security in your life - a security that goes far beyond the physical security this world can offer? (and biblically I even wonder about that)  This security only comes from knowing and following God's Word with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It comes as you fill your mind with His Word - and learn to discern and discriminate between the things in the world that will bring either blessing or problems.  That, my dear saints of God, is security.  All other promises will ring hollow and empty.