Wisdom -- Yours or His?

Ask God for something, get the answer.  Ask God for something else, get the answer.  Ask God for healing.  Healing manifests.  Have another healing need.  Forget how God previously healed.  Which choice do you make?  Accept the diagnosis, live with the issue, follow the doctor's prescription, ignore God's prescription.  Why? Or, have you asked for a job, a mate, child(ren), friends, houses, land, church home, deliverance, victory, success, prosperity, etc.?  God answers your prayer.  Then you take God's answer for granted, it becomes commonplace, you may even abuse or walk away from His blessing.

Sometimes we do what I have chosen to call "the Solomon."  And you think, what is "the Solomon?" Shortly after Solomon became king of Israel, 1 Kings 3:5-15 records how God appeared to Solomon in a dream and said "ask for whatever you want me to give you."  Solomon asked for an understanding and discerning heart. God was so pleased at his request that he granted his request and added to it riches, honor, long life, all with no equal among kings.  King Solomon was held in awe and great esteem because people from near and far heard and saw that he had wisdom from God.  The Word says that he wrote over 3,000 proverbs more than 500 of which are recorded in the book of Proverbs.  In Proverbs 4:7, Solomon wrote that wisdom is supreme … the principal thing … the most important thing … the first thing, and we should get wisdom. 

Overtime, Solomon set out to study and explore by his wisdom all that was done under heaven.  Why did he choose his wisdom rather than godly wisdom? Many of his findings and conclusions are recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes.  The one who wrote in the Proverbs that wisdom is supreme, that it is the principal thing, wrote in Ecclesiastes that everything, including wisdom, is meaningless.  Why would Solomon ask to be granted godly wisdom, then turn away to explore everything under the sun by using his wisdom?  Are you doing "the Solomon" with your blessings? Are you applying godly wisdom or your human wisdom to the situations, circumstances, and relationships in your life?  Going forward, which will it be for you -- your wisdom or His wisdom?

Outside Your Comfort Zone, part 3

If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten. Now, you're in your comfort zone.  Why not just keep things as they are?  Let sleeping dogs lie.  Why rock the boat?  Why ask for more? Why do anything differently?

I've been part of a 30 minute teaching and prayer conference call for the past four years known as Rise @ 5.  For the past two years, I've had the wonderful opportunity to teach on this call Monday through Thursday, week after week.  My comfort zone includes getting up between 4:30 - 4:40 every morning, bathroom break, brush my teeth, pray, turn on computer to my bible software wherein are my teaching notes, call the conference line at 4:58, say good morning.  Same routine, day after day, week after week, consistently for more than two years.  Out of nowhere came a Tuesday morning when I dialed the conference line # and got a busy signal.  Hung up, dialed again, got a busy signal, repeated this for several times.  God, what's going on?  I must do something different.  But what? I'm the teacher, got to get on the call. Finally got linked into the call through another person at 5:08.  Next day, same routine, and the same busy signal happened again.  Ooops, I need to go back to the same person who linked me into the call the day before.  She had difficulty, but we finally got on the call at 5:10.  Later than the day before, not good.  Third day comes and I remember that if I do what I've always done, I'll get what I've always gotten.  Followed the same routine except I made the call at 4:51, seven minutes earlier than usual.  Got on and was amazed at the number of callers who were likewise calling in earlier.  It is my understanding that before 5 o'clock, a dozen women were already on the call. 

So what's my take-away from the three day experience?  There is a time when we need to step outside our comfort zone, a time when we have to take a different approach, a time when we have to make a change.  Sometimes, we have to Proverbs 3:5-6 God.  "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

 

Outside Your Comfort Zone, part 2

The Bible records so many stories of those who stepped outside of their comfort zones -- those places where they were most comfortable, the people with whom they were most comfortable, and the things they were most comfortable doing.

 Moses walked away from being the prince of Egypt during his first 40 years to being a keeper of sheep for a black man in Midian for 40 years, and onto becoming the deliverer and leader of his people during his last 40 years of life.  David stepped outside his comfort zone and went from being a shepherd boy to becoming the greatest king of Israel.  David was the least recognized by his father among his seven brothers.  He became a giant killer, then a renegade warrior  who King Saul chased and tried to kill for many years, onto serve as king of Israel for 40 years.   Ruth left the comfort of her homeland in Moab and her people to follow her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Bethlehem.  There she married Boaz, gave birth to a son named Obed who was the father of Jesse, the father of David.  This Gentile woman was named in the lineage of Jesus.

You too have a story to tell.  Remember an occasion when you stepped well outside your comfort zone ... when you did something you had never done before ... when God moved exceedingly abundantly above anything you could have asked for or even imagined ...  when you were more successful than you ever thought possible ... when you were more than a conqueror ... when the power of God worked mightily through you.  Don't just remember,  tell somebody, bless the Lord with your praise and thanksgiving.  Remember Psalm 34:1 -- "I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth."  Step outside your comfort zone!!!