12.19.16

 
 
 
Devotional for Monday, December 19, 2016
“Living Wisely”
 
Praying Child Christian Stock Photo
 
by Dona Hake
 
 

Psalm 111:10

“To obey the Lord is the fundamental principle for wise living; all who carry out his precepts acquire good moral insight .  He will receive praise forever.”
 
 
Today I want to share with you about the value of living every day of your life wisely as you commit to serve the Lord. In Proverbs 3:5-6 the Word admonishes us to trust in Him and lean NOT on our own understanding.  Last week I can remember exhorting you in a devotional to patiently lean upon the Lord as you wait for Him.   But here in Proverbs 3:5-6 we are being warned of the danger of what we ARE NOT to lean on, and that is our own understanding.   Oh how tempting it can be to just relax in our faith, and just lean on our knowledge and what our physical eyes are telling us.  You know at times it can be very tempting to just rely on what we may think we should do rather than trusting God to speak to us.  This scripture will serve to keep us humble and growing in our walk with Him.  
 
Leaning on God for all that we need is so vital, and it must be our pursuit for this is very much a part of living wisely and being a doer of the Word!    Living by faith will always challenge us in the realm of thinking we have to see, feel or understand things with our minds.  Sometimes we want so badly to understand things that we are walking through, and there are times we may be putting  too much focus on figuring things out.  
 
Understanding things can be beneficial at times but remember, peace does not come because we understand a problem but rather peace comes from knowing we serve the One that can solve our problem. May our hearts be reminded that His peace surpasses our understanding, and it surpasses the ways and thoughts of man.   Even in the midst of turmoil going on within us, we can hold fast to a peace that permeates our soul, and keeps us from being tossed around by the circumstances we are facing. 
 
Lord we ask You this day to help us to live wisely before You.   We thank You that as we seek to obey Your Word that we are on the path to wise living, and walking in paths of righteousness for Your Name’s sake.   We ask that You help us discern right from wrong, and we ask Your Holy Spirit to help us in those times that we are tempted to lean on our own understanding.   In Jesus Name, amen!