Proverbs 4:20-22 (ESV)
20 My son, be attentive to my words;
incline your ear to my sayings.
21 Let them not escape from your sight;
keep them within your heart.
22 For they are life to those who find them,
and healing to all their flesh.
The father urges his son to pay attention to his teaching. The son must continually pursue the way of wisdom, reading over and obeying the commands of the Lord. He is to ready himself for a lifetime of saying “no” to the desires of the sinful flesh and the pull of the world. Instead, he is to walk along the path of the wise without deviation. Such discipline brings great reward, yet can only truly happen as we depend on Jesus. He alone provides the solution for our sin. When we see our moral failure and place our trust in Christ, the supernatural work of the Lord creates in us new hearts, rewired to walk in his ways. Often, the world around us tries to heal moral failure with medication or therapy, which may provide a temporary Band-Aid, but never really get to the cancer under the skin. Align your desires with the will of Jesus today. His Spirit will refresh your soul in a way no other person or thing can.