Have you ever watched a sprinter in the Olympics? They are all in: eyes focused on the finish line, every muscle in their body working towards the goal at hand, every thought in their mind concentrating on the race. Today’s Proverb speaks of a pursuit similar to that:

”Then he taught me, and he said to me, “Take hold of my words with all your heart; keep my commands, and you will live.“

Proverbs 4:4 NIV

God has laid out His path to victory for our lives— the pursuit of God Himself. He tells us to “take hold of His Words with all our hearts.” We are to be “all in” in our pursuit of Him!

The spiritual heart is where our thoughts, our feelings, and our decisions originate from. It is that heart that we are to focus like a lazer beam on taking hold of God’s Words. Every bit of our thoughts, feelings and our decisions are to be set upon His Word. Why? Because God is His Word and His Word is God (John 1:1). He is to be the focus of our life.

Verse 7 states “Get Wisdom (truth in practice- Jesus the Wisdom of God) Though it cost you all you have…” Jesus is worthy of our most focused pursuit! He is worth giving up our own plans, our own desires, our own ways in order to attain! Why? Because He is life itself! All the things we prize that are not of him are only “deep darkness” that “makes us stumble.” Verse 19.

We are to be like the Olympic runner I mentioned at first. Focusing all we are on the race towards attaining Him. It is the only way to have life that is full of joy, peace, and contentment. Because joy, peace and contentment are only found in Jesus, the Wisdom that the book of Proverbs speaks of pursing.