26Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established. [simple_tooltip content=’20 My son, give attention to my words;
Incline your ear to my sayings.21 Do not let them depart from your eyes;
Keep them in the midst of your heart;22 For they are life to those who find them,
And health to all their flesh.23 Keep your heart with all diligence,
For out of it spring the issues of life.24 Put away from you a deceitful mouth,
And put perverse lips far from you.25 Let your eyes look straight ahead,
And your eyelids look right before you.26 Ponder the path of your feet,
And let all your ways be established.27 Do not turn to the right or the left;
Remove your foot from evil.’](Proverbs 4:20-27)[/simple_tooltip]
The end of the old year and the beginning of a new one is a great time to take inventory of what has happened in your life and plan for what’s ahead. Some people don’t think it’s good to look back, and they certainly don’t think it’s good to make New Year’s resolutions. But this passage of Scripture tells us to “ponder the path of thy feet.”
Ponder means “to weigh mentally.” You can’t weigh something unless you have something to weigh it against. If you don’t have any goals, there’s no way to evaluate whether or not you’re making progress. We all need something to shoot at. Otherwise, we’ll shoot at nothing and hit it every time!
There are dangers associated with setting goals and making resolutions. If we stretch ourselves too far, we are destined to fail. This just adds to our sense of guilt and frustration. The Bible advocates vision and goal setting, but we need to exercise wisdom. We shouldn’t set goals arbitrarily, independent of God. Establishing goals contrary to His will just absorbs all our time and keeps us from Him.
It’s beneficial to look back and remember the good and learn from the bad. In order to plow a straight row, we must fix our eyes on a point far out in front of us. Use this time to see if your life is going in the direction the Lord wants it to. If it’s not, then there needs to be some changes. It’s foolish to keep doing the same things expecting different results. Ponder the path of your feet today, and take the appropriate steps.
