Proverbs 4:20-23  My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all theirflesh.

Sometimes we take in the Proverbs as truth that is loving, wise, and occasionally challenging. But what if there were one proverb that was very active, with a picture implying great movement? That’s what Proverbs 4:21 presents. After a “Hey, pay attention to this” word in verse 20, we move onto the intended subject of our attention: Once you hear my words, don’t let them escape!  This implies that it is easy for those words to do so, which we know from experience. There is a promise attached to keeping hold of God’s word—life and healing—but my focus here is on the challenge to prevent the word from escaping.

God’s words are so very easy to escape from us that they often break out and make a run for it before we even realize it. We have to be diligent to not let them go.

Think of what it takes to make sure that inmates in prison don’t escape. There has to be a system that is adhered to, actions that are thought through, and a watchfulness that’s constant.

When God’s word jumps off a page, or it comes to you through a sermon or a friend, what do you do with them? If you are convinced that the words are (or likely are) from God to you, do you have some kind of system of keeping them? Writing them down is probably the best here, as our memories fade and words collide in our heads over time.

God’s words usually have an intended action once we’ve heard them. That’s the end result of properly “inclining our ears to his sayings”. His words stay alive as we respond to them. So respond to them in whatever way you can, knowing that the Lord may shed more light as you walk in response to His word. When receiving the word is followed by walking in it—even if just a couple of steps—the word is far less likely to escape.

The key here is watchfulness. Words are easy to allow to slip away, and we can prevent them from escaping by taking care how we receive and respond to them. Think about it: Are there words from yesterday or yesteryear that have escaped? Most of us would say yes. But Proverbs 4 tells us that we have ability to keep them around, to not let them escape. God’s words don’t have to sneak away; it’s up to us. It’s in our power to keep them from escaping.