LISTEN UP
Reality Check: 30 Days in Proverbs to Help Recalibrate Your Instead Heart / Day 1
A new year speaks of new possibilities. The options are endless, and sometimes this leads me to distress… Because I can’t decide what to do, and I don’t want to choose the wrong thing. And, if I ask 3 people for advice, I usually end up with 3 different courses of action, and I am not any closer to figuring it out.
Do you dread tomorrow because you can’t control the outcome? Or maybe you have listened to someone’s terrible advice in the past, and the consequences were heartbreaking. Friend, God does not want us to live with unrelenting uncertainty.
God speaks with wisdom, and when we listen to Him, we dwell secure. Wisdom is more than “knowing what is right.” Wisdom means we know what is true, and we know how to act on what is true.
Wisdom invites us to listen and learn from the truth. To “listen” means more than merely hearing. To listen is to regard and honor with our heart. When we listen, our will is surrendered to God in submissive humble obedience.
The end result of listening to the instruction of wisdom is permanent peace. We gain a calm assurance, and we are set free from succumbing to anxiety. The mind of an obedient listener rests free from dread.
How will you “listen up” today? Let wisdom guide you, and set aside all fear. You are secure because God’s presence will protect you from evil.
The sheer simplicity of what comes before the final verse of this first chapter in Proverbs speaks volumes. Instructions on what to do and what not to do, followed by what to do and what not to do, how to do it etc. My granny was always quoting Proverbs. I hear her voice whenever I read it. As I reflected (envisioned) on what the scriptures said it was like a warm hug. There is so much more to it than just listening to what God says. We need to hear it, accept it, follow the directions with a great understanding of the knowledge that comes from wise words. Praise God I am: unafraid, safe from evil and harm, secure, confident and all because I want to choose to listen and obey the word of God! What joy.
I really enjoyed reading the devotional ( day one) it tied in so well with the bible reading. I love the interactive document, I printed it out and it’s in a binder. Thank you Lyli for starting us out strong in Proverbs 🙏