“Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of the evil. Avoid it; do not go on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they cannot sleep unless they have done wrong; they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble. For they eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” Proverbs 4:14 - 19
Do Not Enter
Have you ever come up to a sign that says "Do Not Enter" and yet, you wanted to go inside to see why you should not enter? Or, maybe someone hands you a plate of food and says, "Hey, watch out! This plate is really hot." Why does that warning seem to make you want to touch the hot plate? There is something inside of us that wants to buck the system, we want to see if we are stronger than the warnings that are attempting to keep us safe. We know it will not end well, but we do it anyway.
The book of Proverbs shares some pretty strong warnings about how we should not walk in the path of the wicked. Do not enter, don't walk, avoid it, turn away, pass on. All of those warnings in just two verses (v14, 15)! Solomon seems pretty serious about avoiding the path of the wicked.
Up at Night
Solomon says that we will be robbed of sleep when we walk in the path of wickedness. Have you ever had a restless night of sleep? If you have a newborn child, you might be in the middle of a whole season without much sleep! Even one night without enough sleep can throw off our internal rhythms and it can take a few days to recover fully. We can all remember a time when sleep eluded us and the effects that it put on our bodies.
Righteousness, however, is described as the light that comes with the dawn. It's the soft morning glow coming over the hill as the darkness dissipates and retreats for another day. As you read verse 18, notice how Solomon describes the morning light. He says that it "shines brighter and brighter until full day." Morning is more than one moment; it comes slowly but eventually overwhelms the darkness. If you are in a dark place today, you can take comfort in knowing that the daylight will be here soon. It may look small and unimpressive at the beginning, but God is not going to leave you in the dark! There will be a day when the full glory of God appears and there will be no more darkness or night.
Here comes the sun
The next time you are awake before the sun, take a few minutes to watch what happens as the sun rises around you. Every minute there is more and more light until morning has come. Psalm 30:15 says, "Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning." We can take courage in the reality that God is with us, and that righteousness will prevail. There is wisdom in aligning our hearts to the movement of righteousness. Righteousness will come at the right time. Just as we cannot control when morning breaks, we cannot control when God moves.
Walking in wisdom does not remove darkness from our world; there is no ‘magic pill’ to get rid of the pains of this life. However, when we walk in wisdom we see the struggles of this world as a temporary pain that will be made whole by God one day. So, don't give up! Don't give in! Morning is coming.
Reflect and Respond
Read Proverbs 4:23 - 27 and consider the benefits of walking in wisdom. Spend a few minutes in prayer asking God to help you clearly see the path as you go throughout your day.