God's School of Wisdom

May 28 "Love Out Loud" Daily Devotional by Joyce Meyer

God's School of Wisdom

"I have taught you in the way of skillful and godly Wisdom [which is comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God]." Proverbs 4:11

True Christianity goes far beyond mere doctrine. We certainly need to know the principles of our faith in the form of doctrine, but real love for God is so much more than a set of basic beliefs; it is also a way of daily, practical living that comes from understanding the ways and purposes of God.

When we approach everyday situations from the perspective of God's ways and purposes, we ask questions such as: "How would Jesus talk to that person?" "How would Jesus deal with that person's obvious need?" When we begin to think along these lines, we are learning to be wise because we are seeking to understand the ways and purposes of God.

Moses was a very wise man, one who understood the importance of knowing God's ways. In Exodus 33:13, he cried out to God: "...If I have found favor in Your sight, show me now Your way, that I may know You..." God answered Moses' prayer, as we read in Psalm 103:7: "He made known His ways...to Moses, His acts to the children of Israel."

Notice the distinction between what God made known to Moses (His ways) and what he made known to the children of Israel (His acts). Some people are only interested in God's acts--what He will do for them. But wise people are like Moses; they hunger for a deep understanding of His ways. Let me encourage you to cry out to God as Moses did.

Love God Today: Ask God to show you His ways and help you understand His purposes.

Oh Today...

Hey all! It's been soooo longggg since I've posted anything! I'm determined to try to at least somewhat keep up with this blog! I mean really, it's the least I can do.

Well, today I learned a valuable lesson. I overcame temptation! *Cheers* *Applause* Thank you, thank you. Okay, but back to a serious note. I don't know if anyone else does this (I'm sure you do), but sometimes I read a Bible verse and I'm like: "That's a great verse! I'm gonna remember this verse so that when I'm going through a trial or a struggle, I'll have it to back me up and lift my spirits." OHHH THE STRUGGLE. The verse I'm thinking of right now is 1 Corinthians 10:13. "No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."

I'm not gonna lie, I didn't remember the verse word for word. I completely had to look it up on BibleGateway.com (which is a great site, by the way!). Let's face it: I HATE BEING TEMPTED. I'm not sure I know anyone who enjoys it, but seriously. It's not even a mindset of "Oh here I am being tempted again." No, it's "Oh my gosh, how am I ever going to overcome this?" (There's an emotional difference that I'm hoping you maybe can pretend to "hear" while reading that, haha.) But honestly, temptations aren't easy. They're not meant to be easy. If everyone could overcome every temptation easily, they wouldn't be TEMPTING to us. I like that BibleGateway has footnotes about this verse. It says "The Greek for temptation and tempted can also mean testing and tested." Whew, that's something to wrap your mind around! It's so true, too. When you are being tempted, you are also being tested. God knows this, and if you know it as well and trust in Him to help you work through the struggle, you will succeed in turning away from the temptation and turning toward God.

Temptations are enticing to us because we're humans and we make mistakes and we enjoy a thrill (which is why temptations are also bad for us). Giving in to a temptation doesn't make you a bad person. It further solidifies that you are, in fact, HUMAN. The dictionary on my computer defines temptation as "a desire to do something, esp. something wrong or unwise." Well if that's not blunt then I don't know what is. Remember, we're humans, which means as intelligent as we are...well, we're also stupid sometimes. We all know that temptations are "wrong" and "unwise," so why do we give in? Because, as the dictionary even knows, temptations are DESIRABLE. Something attracts us to the sin or wrongdoing that we know we may or may not be about to carry through with. But we can overcome.

One of my absolute FAVORITE verses in the Bible is John 16:33. "I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." That is always SO encouraging to me. I'm gonna struggle. I'm gonna go through trials. I'm going to encounter temptations and hate them and wish they were gone, but the truth is, they'll still be there until I commit to doing something about them, whether that is giving in to my selfish ways or rising above all that with Christ.

Today I chose to rise above. Although that statement may prod you to commend me on a job well done, I don't want to take any of the credit. I don't deserve that. I'm not trying to be overly modest or humble about it, but I'm also not being braggy. I am proud of myself, though. It's amazing that when you're going through a struggle, while you're in the midst of a temptation, prayer is the powerful force that helps you climb your way out of the pit you've fallen into. The one that you have happily dug for yourself while toying with the idea of saying yes to the temptation right in front of you. But the great thing about prayer is that even when you don't feel like you're praying a "good prayer," your heart knows better. Your heart prays what your mind and words can't, and God hears that. He offers you a hand and helps you up out of the pit and embraces you in His love, and all because you chose Him over sin.

I don't know, maybe this sounds like such a trivial thing to you, but to me, it's more than that. Temptations come in all shapes and sizes, and the more you overcome them with Christ, the more you are strengthened in Christ.

"One day, you'll be standing in front of God, and He'll show you just how easy it was to say no." A very special person in my life likes to remind me of these wise words, and he's right. That's also something that keeps me going when I'm in the midst of trying to resist a temptation. As much as I want to give in (remember, it's tempting because it's desirable), if I just stop and breathe and really think about it for a minute, I realize that the payoff of saying no is much greater than the adrenaline rush from saying yes. An adrenaline rush doesn't last, but the lesson God teaches you from saying no...that's something you can hang your hat on for the rest of your life.

So long story short, don't feel alone if you're going through a temptation. For one, you're human, so you're going to be tempted. It's completely normal. For two, you have so many brothers and sisters in Christ (friends, family, church family, whoever!) who are more than willing to listen to you in your time of need. Do not ever hesitate to contact someone when you're being tempted. The devil wants you to try to face it on your own so that you'll give in, but God wants you to turn to your Christian family and Him, so that we all can help you overcome and grow from it. And I promise, the growth you receive after overcoming is SO worth it :)


Much love,
n.

Redesigned!

Did some redesigning of my blog! New background, new fonts, new pictures :)

I mean I've updated my life recently, so shouldn't my blog be a part of that too?


Enjoy :)