Keep Your Foot from Evil - Proverbs‬ ‭4:27‬ ‭

In today’s Biblical devotional for Christian women, we will ponder Proverbs 4:27 and its practical application in our daily lives. I will share with you how I personally battle two TWO evils in my own life (lust and gluttony), and I’ll help you examine your life and witness how God is leading your path straight.

https://onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com/proverbs-4-27

The examples I’ll be sharing are for adults only. Children should not be listening to this content. The examples of evil from my own personal life, which I’ll share today, will be relevant to most of the Christian women listening to my Christian podcast The Anna Szabo Show and reading my Christian blog Onlinediscipleshipforwomen.com

I am Anna Szabo, and right now you’re listening to The Anna Szabo Show Christian podcast for women who love Jesus. I make content to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word. My passion in life is to help encourage and empower you by sharing my testimony of God’s amazing glory in my own life story.

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There are three things you can expect:

1. You’ll hear the Biblical devotional I prepared for you
2. There will be an exercise for you to do in order to ponder Proverbs 4:27 as it relates to your own faith journey
3. I’ll pray for you to lift you up to God and ask for His peace, protection, provision, and promotion in your life

PART 1. BIBLICAL DEVOTIONAL FOR CHRISTIAN WOMEN

This is the most difficult devotional I have ever set out to create. I’m going to share with you my deepest struggles, which I’d prefer to forever keep to myself of course, but God called me to share my testimony and tell you my story to display His glory. 

God’s glory is not the only thing you’ll see displayed throughout this Biblical devotional for Christian women. You’ll witness what’s called “the human condition,” which is my endless struggle with the flesh. The flesh and the spirit always at odds within us, the Christian women who desire to obey and honor God. I desire to obey and honor God.

My Heavenly Father God specified two evils, and told me personally to flee from these two evils. What are they?

Proverbs 23:2 says: “put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony.”

Why is gluttony so evil?

Proverbs 23:21 explains this: “the glutton will come to poverty, and the drowsiness of overindulgence will clothe them with rags.”

Not only is it expensive to indulge in gluttony but also overindulgence in food leads to drowsiness, which is the opposite of what God’s word directs us to be - alert, aware, awake, and alive fully as His daughters and disciples of Jesus Christ. We can’t serve God being drowsy, which is a feeling of being sleepy and lethargic.

Whenever I indulge in gluttony, I feel not only sleepy and lethargic but also powerless as the desire for food overwhelms me. After I indulge in gluttony, I feel off my path, exactly the opposite of what Proverbs 4:27 teaches: “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” Whenever I surrender to this first evil, the sin of gluttony, I stray away from God.

1 John 2:16 explains this in great detail:

“For all that is in the world - the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes - are not from the Father but are from the world.” So what it means is that whenever I give into the desires of the flesh, such as the sin of gluttony, indulging in food, it is not from God, so it is evil.

The first evil I battle is gluttony.

Only a few people know this: my best friend Maria, my neighbors Gabby and Mary, and the readers on my Christian blog posts about fasting and the plant-based diet. I will link those resources below in the description box if you want to read. There, I shared my food diaries, and they reveal my struggles with gluttony, the first evil that’s distracting me from God.

The second evil in my life is lust.

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 says. How does lust lead me to the left and toward evil when I’ve been celibate for many many years?

Matthew 5:28 establishes this very clearly: “a woman who looks at a man with lustful intent has already committed adultery with him in her heart.”

If you know my addiction story, you know that I struggled with promiscuity and slept around for years. I am divorced three times, and I live a simple, single, celibate life with Jesus Christ who has my heart.

But this celibacy is fragile, though I’ve stayed faithful to God for many years, I know how fragile I am, and how strong the enemy is, so I battle this evil courageously every time lust is lurking around looking to devour me and lead me astray from Jesus.

A few days ago, I went to the UPS, and there was a new employee there: tall, handsome, beautiful curly hair, very gorgeous man. As soon as I began noticing these thing I just shared with you, I became alarmed knowing where they lead. They never ever lead toward purity and faithfulness to God, and you know it.

I was doing a return of an ab roller. He asked me about my abs, told me he is a fitness instructor, and with my return label, he gave me his cell phone number. Once I got out and to my car, I saw the paper, which said: “Joseph” and his cell number.

In that moment, I knew exactly where this would lead, so I immediately threw away this piece of paper and prayed to God for calmness and purity of my thoughts.

I’m 38, and I first gave myself away at 16. While I’ve been single and celibate for years, I know those fire works that I saw coming from Joseph. They are beautiful but very dangerous, and I stay away from them at all times.

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 and I keep my foot away from this evil. As far as the evil of gluttony, as I’m sharing this devotional with you, I have missed my timeframe for releasing it as I promised you’ll have it by 7:15 pm on Sunday. It’s 11 pm, I feel exactly as the Bible warns: lethargic. Why? Because I gave in and indulged in gluttony today so now I feel physically sick and mentally foggy.

This is the human condition.

It’s why I need Jesus every day.

The battle between the flesh and the Spirit is ongoing, and that is exactly why we are warned so prominently “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27.

What is the evil you are fighting in your life? Let’s do an exercise so that you can ponder Proverbs 4:27 in practical ways.

PART 2. PROVERBS 4:27 SPIRITUAL EXERCISE TO GROW YOUR FAITH

I want you to think right now about YOUR journey with God and what distractions you battle. What is it that constantly tries to take over your mind in order to lead you astray from God’s purpose and His straight path for your life?

Once you identify what that evil is, go to AnnaSzabo.com/proverbs-427 and let me know in the comments what evil things you courageously confront within yourself abs how God helps you, as well as your challenges in this battle. Once you share it with me, I want to hold you accountable because your next step in this exercise is the following:

“Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27.

Tell me what you are working hard NOT TO DO, and I’ll be your accountability partner and your personal prayer warrior. Now, let me pray for you.

Before I do, if you’d like to support my ministry, there’s a link in the description where you can make a donation and shop my Christian apparel collection with encouraging and empowering Biblical affirmations to help you create a joyful life by embracing God’s word.

Let me pray for you.

Actually, why don’t your pray this with me?

PART 3: “KEEP YOUR FOOT AWAY FROM EVIL” BIBLICAL PRAYER

Father God, you are good, and I trust your 3573 promises in the Bible. One of your promises, God is 1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

God, I believe that whenever I’m battling temptations, whenever there’s  a fight within me between the flesh and the Spirit, you provide an escape, God. Let me see it every time. Let me choose to exercise my free will and take an opportunity you provide to escape my intense and overwhelming temptations. I am yours, God.

I want to obey your instructions and follow your narrow path, which is straight. “Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” - Proverbs 4:27 instructs me. Father God, any time I’m led to the left or to the right by worldly temptations, let me choose to follow you, allow me to keep my feet away from evil, not in my own power but through Christ in me.

I pray this in His name, in the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior. Amen.

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• fasting AnnaSzabo.com/fasting
• plant-based diet AnnaSzabo.com/plant-based-diet

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