Proverbs 12:15 (ESV)

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

Proverbs 12:18 (ESV)

There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

Explanation:

The basic tension of Proverbs is the choice between two paths: foolishness and wisdom. Culture tries to tell us that we can create our own truth and therefore we can define what is wisdom. Scripture tells us that truth is only found in God, and therefore wisdom is only found in obedience to Him. Culture tries to convince us that there are many paths of life that can all turn out equally good, but the truth of Scripture is that there are only two options which end in dramatically different destinations. Wisdom will end in God’s blessing that leads to eternal life. Foolishness will lead to heartache, brokenness, and ultimately in eternal destruction.

Solomon wrote Proverbs, and what he was emphasizing in these two proverbs is that we will not find wisdom inside of ourselves naturally. There are too many things in our hearts that will interfere with the discovery of wisdom. We have desires, biases, hurts, and all types of brokenness. The way to discover wisdom is to be open to instruction from someone who knows and models wisdom. The added blessing of listening to someone who has wisdom is their words might also bring healing. Wisdom will lead us away from ongoing hurt and will lead us around future traps of foolishness. The question for us is will we be humble enough to pursue wisdom from the wise and apply it to our lives?

Action Steps:

1. Take a moment to think about what clouds your view of what is wise?

2. When you face a difficult choice, what is the process you go through to discover wisdom? Do you ever rely on someone to speak wisdom into your life?

3. Think about sources of wisdom that God has placed in your life. How can you better utilize those sources when you are faced with a difficult choice?

Prayer:

Jesus, please help us to have the conviction in our hearts to believe that wisdom is only found in You, and that You willingly give it to whoever asks for it. Help us to not simply seek wisdom, but to apply it to our lives. Help us to love Your word and ways. Help us to see the foolishness of our world and to despise it in our hearts and actions. Your ways are best, and we thank You for revealing the truth to us. We love You. Amen.

For Further Study:

Read Proverbs 1:1-7 for a foundation on how wisdom is discovered.

2 Chronicles 10:3-16 (NLT)

The leaders of Israel summoned him, and Jeroboam and all Israel went to speak with Rehoboam. “Your father was a hard master,” they said. “Lighten the harsh labor demands and heavy taxes that your father imposed on us. Then we will be your loyal subjects.”

Rehoboam replied, “Come back in three days for my answer.” So the people went away.

Then King Rehoboam discussed the matter with the older men who had counseled his father, Solomon. “What is your advice?” he asked. “How should I answer these people?”

The older counselors replied, “If you are good to these people and do your best to please them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your loyal subjects.”

But Rehoboam rejected the advice of the older men and instead asked the opinion of the young men who had grown up with him and were now his advisers. “What is your advice?” he asked them. “How should I answer these people who want me to lighten the burdens imposed by my father?”

The young men replied, “This is what you should tell those complainers who want a lighter burden: ‘My little finger is thicker than my father’s waist! Yes, my father had heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!’”

Three days later Jeroboam and all the people returned to hear Rehoboam’s decision, just as the king had ordered. But Rehoboam spoke harshly to them, for he rejected the advice of the older counselors and followed the counsel of his younger advisers. He told the people, “My father laid heavy burdens on you, but I’m going to make them even heavier! My father beat you with whips, but I will beat you with scorpions!”

So the king paid no attention to the people. This turn of events was the will of God, for it fulfilled the Lord’s message to Jeroboam son of Nebat through the prophet Ahijah from Shiloh.

When all Israel realized that the king had refused to listen to them, they responded,

“Down with the dynasty of David!”

We have no interest in the son of Jesse.

Back to your homes, O Israel!

Look out for your own people, O David!”

So all the people of Israel returned home.

Explanation:

Solomon has died and Rehoboam is the new king of Israel. Early in his reign, Rehoboam is approached by his people with a very reasonable proposal: lighten our load and we’ll be good subjects forever. Instead of agreeing, he chose to listen to the “young men who had grown up with him.” If we read closely, we can see the difference in how the people surrounding Solomon and Rehoboam are described. Solomon’s inner circle “counseled” him, while Rehoboam’s “advised” him. A subtle difference, but anyone can give advice, while counsel suggests an element of guidance and support. These counselors may even have been part of the reason Solomon was considered so wise, but Rehoboam didn’t consider that possibility.

Rehoboam’s advisers were presumably close to his own age, had no experience being king, and obviously didn’t value mercy or compromise. They did nothing to prove themselves worthy of their position. At times, God appoints the unqualified, knowing they will rely on Him for direction, but clearly these advisers were not seeking God on behalf of Rehoboam. They dispensed advice without considering the consequences, and this particular advice cost Rehoboam his kingdom.

Their rash and ill-advised suggestion to harshly deal with the people backfired, and ultimately caused the majority of Rehoboam’s kingdom to leave, never to serve God again. Only Judah and Benjamin remained loyal to Rehoboam (although it couldn’t have been easy). We know God had plans for these two kingdoms, but the northern tribes refused to be ruled by a descendant of David, which was part of God’s ultimate plan in Jesus. They knew they needed a king, but rejected Rehoboam when he “paid no attention to the people.”

Thankfully, this cautionary account is followed up by a beautiful reminder: “This turn of events w

James 1:22-26 (The Message, emphasis mine)

Don’t fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don’t act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away, and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like.

But whoever catches a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life!—even out of the corner of his eye, and sticks with it, is no distracted scatterbrain but a man or woman of action. That person will find delight and affirmation in the action.

Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air.

Explanation:

Stop, look, and listen.

Stop, drop, and roll.

These are such small and powerful slogans to teach us how to not get killed.

Stop, hear, and act would be James’ slogan.

James doesn’t want us to die or suffer harm, so he is asking us to stop fooling ourselves by a continuous cycle of conviction with no follow-through. It’s not enough to feel bad about our actions. That just leaves us feeling bad.

Who wants to feel bad all of the time?

He wants us to actually hear and process God’s word, to let it come alive IN us. To be blessed by obedience!

The reason hearing is so important is that we want God’s vantage point in our lives.

Once our vantage point is adjusted to God’s vantage point, we will change.

It’s all about clarity…and God offers us clarity.

Yes:

Thoughts of revenge will devour you.

Coveting will germinate anxiety.

Backstabbing will hijack your peace.

Greediness will stunt your growth.

Slander will sour your soul.

Prayerlessness will render you anemic.

Judging will produce a hard heart.

Harshness will lacerate friendships.

Worry will exhaust you.

Laziness depletes.

Listening is the beginning of freedom.

Sin is slippery, and if we think we alone can force it out of our hearts, we are delusional. James knows the secret is grabbing onto the revealed counsel of God: the word of God. That is where life dwells and where life is learned.

Ignoring the Holy Spirit’s nudge regarding something acidic in our life only leads to dysfunction and wasted years.

If you surrender your secrets, struggles, and darkest parts to God, He will meet you at your weakest point and empower transformation layer by layer. You simply cannot pretend your way into the abundant life. But if you “catch a glimpse of the revealed counsel of God—the free life! —even out of the corner of your eye, and stick with it, you will find delight and affirmation in the action.”

Action Step:

I’ve learned that between conviction and doing, is a stage called unraveling.

In my own life, I was feeling convicted for leaning negative.

To start walking out of that, I began feeding myself positive things: proverbs, epistles, uplifting books, and distancing myself from negative people…thus starving negativity. I’ve been a lifelong news junky, until God helped me see that it had crossed the line in my life. I wasn’t made to absorb the divisiveness of American politics. I unraveled by putting guardrails in my life, and replacing the time I would have spent absorbing news with absorbing good things. So much has changed in my heart by my action step. I hope you will isolate something you are convicted of, and plan serious steps toward unraveling it. It’s fun to be free.

Prayer:

Lord, I know the sins I don’t face become my limits. Give me the courage to stop, hear, and act on what I see in the mirror of my soul. Amen.

Luke 6:46-49 (ESV)

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great.”

Explanation:

I recently went to a Marriage Conference in Pittsburgh with my husband put on by Jimmy Evans and the XO Marriage team. At this conference, a couple spoke about how important it is to have a foundational faith, to continually keep choosing obedience, and leaning into God for His wisdom and guidance through all of life. This will help you when something big comes your way. If you are anchored to God and you have a firm foundation in seeking Him, then you will be ready for the storms of life. The wife talked about how she and her husband had been obedient in all the things that this world had thrown their way, and when something rocked them, they would seek after God, and He was always faithful to walk with them through it. She then explained how last year they had their biggest storm yet in the 40 years they had been married: they lost their young adult daughter suddenly. This was a huge storm, but since they had been consistently building on the foundation of hearing God’s Word and doing God’s Word, they could withstand this crippling storm.

Friends, we need to be laying our foundation daily. We cannot be flippant about our walk with God. If you are anything like me, I tend to make excuses for myself and downplay my sin and my disobedience. “It’s not as bad as what most people are doing,” is what I tell myself. This is not the life that God wants for us. He wants us to have an abundant life, filled with blessing, and we receive God’s blessings by being obedient and faithful in building a strong foundation based on Him.

Action Step:

1. Stop for a moment and take a quick inventory: what do you think your foundation is? If you asked the people that are a part of your everyday life how your foundation is, what would they would answer?

2. Are you listening to God’s voice and doing what He says? Or are you brushing Him off? If you are the latter, take some time right now to repent, and to turn back to God in obedience.

3. Ask God if there is any area in your life that you are hearing His voice, but not doing what He asks. Spend some time asking God to help you be obedient.

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for Your word. Help me to take inventory in my life. I pray that You would help me be open to how You want to keep changing me to be more like You. Give me a humble heart and help me seek You and Your wisdom this week. Thank You for not leaving me in my disfunction, but always chasing after me to show me the blessing that You want to give. Amen.

Deuteronomy 11:26-28

Listen to me. I’m setting a blessing and a curse in front of you today. I’m giving you the commands of the Lord your God today. You will be blessed if you obey them. But you will be cursed if you don’t obey them. So don’t turn away from the path I’m now commanding you to take. Don’t turn away by worshiping other gods you didn’t know before

Explanation:

We serve such an amazing God, one who wants to be in relationship with us. He also gives us free will to make choices. What if you were sitting down in front of God at a table, and He laid before you a blessing and a curse? The key to get the blessing is to follow His commands, and the key to get the curse is to follow your own desires and worldly pleasures. What would you choose? I would hope many of us would say we want God’s blessing, but our busy lives, the world, and our brains get in the way of doing that.

Moses wrote this scripture, and it was directly from God. In Moses’s day, there were many false gods that the Israelites would worship and follow. God is asking them, “Are you going to choose me, or someone or something else?” As I was studying this Scripture, a commentary talked about how the blessing or curse can affect other generations. What a weight that carries. Our decisions we make now can affect generations to come.

I had a situation like this happen to me. I had a friend going through a difficult situation, and I felt like God wanted me to text a particular Scripture to them. I questioned myself, thinking this might not be what they wanted to hear, or what if something went from bad to worse. I tried on my own to find something different to say, another Scripture or song. God kept bringing me back to the same Scripture. Finally, I decided to send it, and they said it was exactly what they needed. I instantly asked God to forgive me for questioning Him, which He did. But I almost didn’t take His blessing of helping someone else, because I only saw what I could see…and not His plans. I want the supernatural blessings of God, but it will only come with obedience and taking faith steps with Him.

Action Step:

1. Before you go to bed, ask God to show you the areas of your life you are letting others control, instead of giving those areas to Him.

2. What fear in your life is holding you back from the blessing that God wants to give you?

3. What is God asking you to let Him help you with that will affect the next generation? (addiction, pride, fear, worry, anger, gossip, etc.)

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for your BLESSINGS! I am sorry for the times I choose to follow my own heart when You are asking me to do something out of my comfort zone. Help me to choose Your path instead of going toward the world, even when I don’t understand.

I love You, Father.

In Jesus’s name I pray.

Amen.

1 Kings 11:1-13 (NLT)

Now King Solomon loved many foreign women. Besides Pharaoh’s daughter, he married women from Moab, Ammon, Edom, Sidon, and from among the Hittites. The LORD had clearly instructed the people of Israel, “You must not marry them, because they will turn your hearts to their gods.” Yet Solomon insisted on loving them anyway. He had 700 wives of royal birth and 300 concubines. And in fact, they did turn his heart away from the LORD.

In Solomon’s old age, they turned his heart to worship other gods instead of being completely faithful to the LORD his God, as his father, David, had been. Solomon worshiped Ashtoreth, the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. In this way, Solomon did what was evil in the LORD’s sight; he refused to follow the LORD completely, as his father, David, had done.

On the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, he even built a pagan shrine for Chemosh, the detestable god of Moab, and another for Molech, the detestable god of the Ammonites. Solomon built such shrines for all his foreign wives to use for burning incense and sacrificing to their gods.

The LORD was very angry with Solomon, for his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice. He had warned Solomon specifically about worshiping other gods, but Solomon did not listen to the LORD’s command. So now the LORD said to him, “Since you have not kept my covenant and have disobeyed my decrees, I will surely tear the kingdom away from you and give it to one of your servants. But for the sake of your father, David, I will not do this while you are still alive. I will take the kingdom away from your son. And even so, I will not take away the entire kingdom; I will let him be king of one tribe, for the sake of my servant David and for the sake of Jerusalem, my chosen city.”

Explanation:

In his book titled Finishing Strong, author Steve Farrar suggests that if the life of faith was literally a race, then among the godly men of the Bible, King Solomon crawled to the finish line. Why is that so? Along with unparalleled wealth, God blessed Solomon with more wisdom than anyone in the East (1 Kings 4:30). With all that God entrusted to him, shouldn’t he have left everyone in the dust?

Sadly, Solomon, like his father, violated God’s laws for marriage by having multiple wives—a sin that led to tragic consequences for both of them. All the wisdom in the world didn’t protect Solomon from committing idolatry once his heart was turned from God. Although it happened in his old age, the trap was set much earlier. The heart is not led astray overnight, but through the consent of one temptation, which leads to another temptation, and another…each one easier to approve than the last. Eventually, we find we have drifted miles away from the center of God’s will.

It’s easy to think God overlooked Solomon’s many wives and mistresses because it was a cultural practice—but He didn’t. Not even kings can avoid the consequences of disobedience. Solomon’s sin permanently divided the nation of Israel and left him spiritually bankrupt. All that God entrusts to us comes with unlimited favor when we honor Him…and unmitigated shame when we don’t.

Action Steps:

1. What are the top three things God has entrusted to your care?

2. What safeguards do you have in place to keep your heart from going astray?

Prayer:

Lord, thank You for blessing my life in so many ways. I am committed to keeping my eyes on You alone, and not the blessings You have entrusted to me. Please put the right people in my path to hold me accountable when my behavior does not honor You. Amen.