God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello,

Today I want to talk to you about the pain that occurs from being disobedient to God. Not a fun topic, but once we experience God’s blessings for obedience, we realize that it is worth knowing.

Many people have the very  unwise idea that anything we “feel” we want to have or do, must be okay and must be from God. Most people can rationalize almost any sin. Some may say “well this is how I feel, I can’t change my feelings- I was born this way.” But the Bible tells us a different story.

“Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror  and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.  And Those who consider themselves religious and yet do not keep a tight rein on their tongues deceive themselves, and their religion is worthless.”(James 1 22-26)

Here are some questions to ponder:

~If we honor the Lord by going to church and we believe that He is the Creator of the universe, why don’t we go to His Holy Book to learn more about Him? He is all powerful. He has the ability to make sure every translation of the Bible is received correctly into our hearts as we read.

~If we look to intelligent people- people who are top in their field and have written books to help us- why don’t we read the book inspired by the most powerful Man in the universe? Why do we trust a fallable human being with advice for our life more than we trust the advice of our Lord?

By ignoring the most powerful book of all time, we are saying with our actions that we can run our own lives thank you very much! This thinking is 100% right if you want pain, backtracking and depression.

If you are a parent and your young child tells you that he/she doesn’t need your help in life, that they can do everything themselves, wouldn’t you laugh? Well God laughs too when we think that we don’t need Him.

“The One enthroned in the heavens laughs; the Lord taunts them. Then He rebukes them in His anger, and terrifies them in His fury.” (Psalm 2:4-5)

If we ignore God’s instructions, He will make many attempts- through pain- to get us to return to Him. Pain is a gift. It is the opportunity to stop and analyze why our life is heading down rough terrain. If we are wise we ask the Lord what we have done to bring on this situation. If we are sincere, God will speak to our hearts and make us aware of where our thinking and actions are off track. If we decide to become obedient to His teachings, we will be back under the holy protection of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Do not forsake wisdom and she will protect you; love wisdom and she will watch over you.”(Proverbs 4:6)

“May the Lord answer you when you are in distress, may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.”(Psalm 20:1)

Sometimes ungodly people do well in life. Victory in life is not guaranteed or limited to the strong obedient Christian. God provides according to His will. There are many examples in the Old Testament where God used evil people to defeat and cause pain to the Lord’s people. Why?  So that the believer would draw even closer to the Lord. In other instances, the Lord lets an evil person prosper because He knows those earnings will be inherited by a righteous person.

“A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.”(Prov 13;22)

In the end, the only fulfilling and secure way to live is to follow the Lord. He loves us unconditionally and would like to bless us profusely with a peaceful, happy life.

In order to receive this, we need to draw near to Him and learn. Picture children gathered around a teacher for story time. This is how the Lord wants us to be- learning His truths as children would, not questioning- simply believing.

We can trust God. He is a good teacher and provider and He loves each one of us-always!

Have a great week!

Lisa