“Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established” (Proverbs 4:26).
“Every way of man is right in his own eyes: but the Lord pondereth the hearts” (Proverbs 21:2).
The English word “ponder” means to consider well, to think about. It comes from the Latin word “pondus,” which means “weight.” Sometimes we speak in English of “weighing something carefully,” and that is what the word ponder means. We think about it from every point of view, and do not act hastily.
In our verses today, we are told to ponder the path of our feet. This means that we do not act in a hurry, or make a sudden decision based on impulse and emotion. Rather we think about the matter carefully, and pray about it, asking the Lord for guidance. Then, when we do act, our ways are established, for we can have the confidence that we are going forward in the way the Lord wants us to go.
Of course, there are some things that we do not have to ponder, and should not pray about. If we have a definite scripture on which to act, we do not need to hesitate. For example, suppose a Christian young man was considering marrying a young woman who was not saved. Should he ponder that, and pray about it? No, because God is quite clear in His Word that we are not to be “unequally yoked together with believers” (2 Corinthians 6:14). To pray about something like that is really asking God to change His Word. Rather we should immediately act on God’s Word and break off that relationship. But in many things the pathway may not be clear to us, and then we need to “ponder the path” of our feet.
Then we learn that every way of man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord pondereth the hearts. We may decide on our own to go a certain way, but then the Lord Himself does some pondering. He looks at our hearts and sees what is going on there. If we want to go our own way, our hearts are wrong, for we are wanting our own will instead of the Lord’s will. Then the Lord may have to bring difficulties into our life, in order to draw us back to Himself.
Let us make sure to consider carefully what we are about to do and ask the Lord for His help!