You probably already know this, but one of my all time favorite quotes of C.H. Spurgeon is that-
“God is too good to be unkind and He is too wise to be mistaken. And when we cannot trace His hand, we must trust His heart.”
As I have loved this life He has blessed me to have, I can without a doubt, when I could not trace His hand I was trusting His heart. Spurgeon had it rich when he stated that He (God) is to wise to be mistaken.
When I go to bed at night after telling Elaine I love her and will see her in the morning, I pray. Ioften remember the acrostic ACTS when it comes to prayer. Adoration, confession, thanksgiving and finally supplication. I will spend the bulk of the time on adoration. Who God is and what He has done, is doing and will do.
David wrote in Psalm 16: 7-8:
"I will bless the Lord who has given me counsel; my heart also instructs me in the night seasons.
I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken"
Prayer begins always with recognizing and acknowledging who it is that we are approaching in our prayer. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray He began with
“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name”.
He is in Heaven and He is holy, concecrated, sacred, revered. There is none other like Him and how could there even be one? God created all and was from everlasting to everlasting. Don’t even try to reconcile that or any other attribute of God. You will fail and realize very quickly that He is God and you are not.
You never will take a wrong turn when you are seeking God’s wisdom for your life. This may seem like a strong statement but it is true. God leads us along paths of righteousness. He guides us in wisdom and love. His desire is for us to seek His guidance at every turn in life.
Even in times of minor decision, God loves for us to seek His will and wisdom. When we do, we demonstrate our desire to please Him. We also prove our love and dedication to Him.
David was a powerful man. God had placed him in a position of great authority. However, he understood that eternal blessing came to those who sought God’s wisdom for their lives. For David ,seeking the wisdom of God was the only way to victory and true peace.
Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary says WISDOM is the:
Ability to judge correctly and to follow the best course of action, based on knowledge and understanding.
I want you to see today 4 pitfalls of not seeking The Wisdom of God:
1) Strong fleshly desires that lead us away from God and into sin.
It makes no difference who you are or how you were raised. Rich or poor, educated or not, we all can have those strong fleshly desires. We should never think that we are above the possibility of failing and falling. The old saying is true. Sin will take you further than you wanted to go, keep you longer than you wanted to stay, and cost you more than you wanted to pay.
Sin is and always will be the thing that can and will keep us from fellowshipping with God.
2) Feelings of impatience where we jump ahead of God and miss His best.
This happens all the time when believers get ahead of God. There are so many things we need to remember about God every day. He is omnisecent in that is He is all knowing. He is omnipresent in that is He is everywhere. He is omnipotent in that He is all powerful. Thus, getting ahead of Him is never beneficial to us.
3) Fear and doubt that cause us to waiver in our faith before the Lord.
Why is it that we are so prone to fear and have doubt when He has told us over and over again not to fear. All the way through Scripture from the Old to the New Testament, it reminds us not to be fearful and doubt. They cause us to be anxious and Scripture says to be anxious for nothing. Philippians 4:6-7 New King James Version
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
4) Stress and pressure instead of the peace and joy of God.
Stress and pressure are self induced. They really are because only you can decide to be stressed and pressured. I did not say that there were not situations which can cause a stress or pressure, but you decide how to handle the situation. It takes training and commitment to know how to handle those situations.
God’s Word says in Proverbs 16:9
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps” so trust in the wisdom of God.
In God’s Grace,
Elbert Nasworthy
