Day 11 - Issue 25
Proverbs 4:1a NLT
'My children, listen when your father corrects you.'
Wisdom is both prized and sought after in our society. So many health regimes, from diet to exercise are associated with a growing wisdom. This includes deepening self-knowledge and engaging more effectively with all of life. These attributes which I might describe as ‘a life well-lived’ have always been the foundation of practical and effective Christian living. What began for me as a mental agreement and emotional desire to follow Jesus grew in time to include all of my life.
As a young child, our daughter was more than happy to assume parents knew best. Our authority was first questioned when another authority figure, her teacher, was introduced into her life. Now she had a fresh reference point for her questions about life. She assumed that her teacher was the authority on anything educational. Starting school aged four-and-a-half, and hearing her teacher talk about the harm McDonald’s did to the environment, she refused to eat McDonald’s for two years. This was perhaps wisdom indeed and very much to our liking. As she grew she discovered a fresh source of wisdom among her peers and reversed that decision on their say-so.
Wisdom, the voice of the Holy Spirit, is essential for each one of us to grow into maturity in Christ. Initially, I simply added yet one more source of authority into my life. How was I to discover what the Holy Spirit was saying? Then how was I to determine if what I heard enjoyed greater influence over my life than my other reference points? This is the challenge we each face. How do we pinpoint the wisdom of God amid the cacophony of other voices? There are clues given in today’s verse. Discernment requires attentiveness; being alert and perceptive to what wisdom is saying. Attentiveness requires stillness and a context to listen to God’s voice.
As I have slowly learned to practise attentiveness and the revelation that follows, my life has become integrated, physically, mentally and spiritually. I am an increasingly whole person enjoying a deep inner peace and live comfortably with myself, with others, and with my life circumstances.
QUESTION: To what degree do your decisions and habits reveal the Lord of your life, Jesus?
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, help me recognise your Spirit’s voice and help me obey what you say.
