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Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.
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Have you ever heard anyone speak that just blew your mind? For me, it was John Maxwell. I remember the first time I heard him speak. I was at a conference where he was one of the keynote speakers. When he started speaking, it was one wisdom bomb after another. I was furiously taking notes trying to capture it all. My friend and I kept looking at each other’s iPads to see what we missed. For an hour and a half, I did my best to try to keep up knowing that there was no way I could absorb everything he was saying. My only hope was to capture what he was saying in my notes and read it all again and again to try to understand it all. I later heard someone describe that hour and a half as trying to drink wisdom from a firehose. I thought it was the perfect analogy.
In 1 Kings 3, Solomon was visited by God in a dream and asked him what he would like to be given. Solomon recognized his youth and inexperience, as well as the gravity of trying to be the ruler of God’s chosen people. He asked for wisdom to rule well. God was pleased with that answer and gave him more wisdom and understanding than anyone else. It was quickly shown off by his decision to split the baby in half to determine who its real mother was. When word got out about that, people took notice. He began to compose proverbs, songs, and openly discussed many topics. Then, in 1 Kings 4:34, it says, “Kings all over the world heard of his wisdom and sent people to listen to him” (GNT). It got me to thinking, “Who am I listening to? Who are the wise people in my life that have been blessed by God to speak wisdom? Am I taking time to seek them out in order to listen and learn from them?” What about you? Have you answered these thought about these questions yet?
Proverbs 13:20 says, “If you want to grow in wisdom, spend time with the wise. Walk with the wicked and you’ll eventually become like them” (TPT). Your parents were right. You will become like those you are around. I would hear, “If you want to fly with eagles, you can’t spend your time on the ground walking around with turkeys.” It’s time for you to identify the eagles that God has placed in your life, take the initiative and fly up to where they are. One thing I’ve learned about the wise, they don’t hoard the gift they’ve been given. They freely give it out to those who seek to be around them. What they won’t do is seek you out to give it to you. It’s up to each one of us to make time to have godly wisdom poured into our life. If you can’t identify anyone, or you’re too shy to seek them out and ask for it, then read books by wise people. People of uncommon wisdom are a fountain of information and understanding. Are you thirsty enough to take a drink, even if it feels like it coming from a firehose?
Photo by Greg Leaman on Unsplash
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Several years ago I taught a psychology of sales class. As part of the curriculum, we dealt with the rejection that all sales people face and how to overcome it. One of the methods was to speak out loud positive things about yourself that you wanted to happen. One exercise in particular had participants write down one attribute they wanted to be stronger in. They would get up in front of the group and say, “I am more courageous!” Then the rest of the crowd would shout back, “You are more courageous!” They were then encouraged to keep repeating it at home over and over until they became whatever it was that they chose in order to get it into their subconscious. Psychologists have proven that you can change your behavior, your mindset and even your attributes by creating new neuropathways for your thoughts to travel down. In order to do that, you had to create new paths and those began by speaking out in faith, if you will, about the new way you wanted your brain to think.
The apostle Paul was a person who faced a lot of adversity after he converted to Christianity. He was thrown in prison, he was whipped five times, beaten with a rod three times, stoned, shipwrecked, put in dangerous situations and so much more. If anyone had a reason to speak negatively, it was him. Yet despite all the troubles he had, he held firmly to his faith and spoke words of faith to the churches of that time. He stayed faithful to God despite what his circumstances were. In prison, he sang praises. In storms, he encouraged others, In pain, he trusted in God’s grace. In whatever he faced, he reminded himself that nothing could ever separate him from the love of God. He knew that his words were powerful not only for himself, but for others as well. He wrote many of his letters, which are the books of the New Testament in the Bible, from prison. He understood the importance of staying faithful to God and speaking words of faith in the most trying times. If Paul did it, so should we.
Psalm 116:10-11 says, “Even when it seems I’m surrounded by many liars and my own fears, and though I’m hurting in my suffering and trauma, I will stay faithful to God and speak words of faith” (TPT). Like Paul and this psalmist, you and I must stay faithful to God and speak in faith about all He has done and will do. Many times our situation and circumstances stand opposed to who God is and what we know of Him. In those times, we must trust in the unchanging nature of God rather than what our physical eyes and mind are telling us. We should sing praises and Bible verses out loud to get them into our mind and subconscious. Remember that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Romans 10:17). Don’t be afraid to read the Bible out loud, to pray out loud and to sing out loud when you feel surrounded by your circumstances. You will find strength, encouragement and faith to keep moving forward and to keep trusting in God’s plan for your life.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
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I was nominated by Lilkaraphael @ bisforblessed.com
I was nominated for this award by Mike Stephens at mikeforchrist.com
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 