The tongue of the wise commends knowledge, but the mouths of fools pour out folly.
Proverbs 15:2
We all want to have knowledge.
That’s the ultimate pursuit of man, isn’t it?
Don’t we want to know all things so we can have absolute control?
The pursuit of knowledge is how sin entered the world.
Adam and Eve wanted to eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
They wanted to be like God, knowing everything.
Genesis 3:6 says …when the women saw the tree was desired to make one wise….she took of its fruit and ate it, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.
But they weren’t wise.
We are still reaping sin’s consequences every single day.
When you are wise, you have knowledge.
Actually you have good knowledge as the Hebrew verb “commends” from Proverbs 15:2 means to be good, well, or pleasing.
Whatever the case, the wise person has the good kind of knowledge.
The kind that furthers you onto God’s plans.
Matthew 12:34 gives us a reason the wise have knowledge.
For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Wise people follow God. Fools do not.
What is in your heart?
If God is your focus, your heart will share wisdom as you speak.
If you are your focus, your heart will share folly as you foolishly speak.
When speaking, ask God to cover your words.
Every one.
We all speak folly as fools sometimes.
But as we continue to press into God, becoming more like Him, our words will gain wisdom as our hearts overflow with God’s love, mercy, and grace.
The next time words pour forth from your mouth, stop and notice.
Are they wise or foolish? Do you feel humble or proud? A servant or a king?
Even if you can’t figure it out, your heart knows. And so does God.
Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. Luke 21:34
Are you stuck in the mud of life swirling around you?
Dwelling too much on plans, disappointments, or perfection?
You will only have this day one time.
One time.
How are you spending your time?
Obsessing with the nitty gritty life details?
Or doing your best while allowing God to work through you?
A year from now will you remember what you did today?
Will you remember that situation that wrecked your day?
Unless it’s a truly tragic situation, which does not happen often, you won’t.
You won’t remember that specific annoyance.
So why are you letting it invade your thoughts now?
My grandmother loved to remind us that not much matters when you look down from the balcony of heaven.
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Psalm 73:26
Well today, I’m a bit grumpy.
Just over two days ago, my face erupted again into a painful bacteria infection.
Folks, it’s ugly inside and out.
The pain and burning is like nothing I’ve ever experienced.
Except for the last time this happened.
Three months ago, was my first time driving down into the depths of you know where with my bacteria enemy.
That time was worse as I did not have medicine right away, and when I finally got some, it didn’t work, leading me into another round a few days later.
Sheer misery.
Like this time.
Except this time, I was able to score the drugs that worked. On the first day!
Still waiting for them to wipe it all away, but I’m thankful.
That was God’s handiwork.
He’s also helped me through friends, knowledgeable in healing me with natural products.
I’ve become a walking experiment.
Oregano oil is really awful, but helps heal wounds and fights bad bacteria.
Worth it.
Coconut oil (not melted as I don’t care anymore) can be eaten instead of swallowed.
Really helps destroy bad bacteria, which I am in dire need of.
I picture the medicine and oils running around my body, searching to destroy the bad bacteria when sighted.
I could go on with a few more examples, but you get the point.
When we are ill, we become desperate for it to end. Yes?
Desperate enough to ingest things I never thought I would!
Makes me wonder how desperate we are for God.
It’s easy to ignore Him when life is expected. Calm.
But those are the times we should continue clinging to Him, expressing our gratitude for all He does for us.
For all He is for us.
So here I sit. Waiting.
Waiting on God to move or use the tools handed to me for relief.
But that’s ok.
Waiting before God begs us to trust Him.
To trust this too shall end.
He will come through.
I know this because of all the ways He’s been faithful to me.
What do you need to lay before the Lord today?
What do you need to trust God with, even when you seem stuck where you are?
For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food…..she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:5
How long do you think Adam and Eve were in the garden before listening to the devil?
A month?
A year?
Too bad Eve never experienced pain free childbirth, yes?
That was part of her punishment from God.
But back to the devil.
Why did Eve almost immediately believe the snake over God?
Guessing this was maybe the first time she had spoken with it?
The devil played to Eve’s desire for more.
Wanting to be like God. Or maybe living as her own god, knowing everything our God does.
Did Adam help his wife resist?
Nope. He happily ate, too, when given the opportunity.
No protection for his wife, just partook in the snack.
After they finished, they were immediately changed.
Changed for the worse.
Knowing they were naked, they made themselves clothes, hiding from Almighty God.
First of all, imagine walking with God every day, talking about this and that.
Wow.
Now imagine the panic of your daily walk approaching, knowing you have done the ONE thing you were not supposed to do.
I’d hide, too.
But you can’t hide from God.
Nothing can be hid from Him as He knows all things.
Imagine God watching Adam and Eve eat that fruit.
Probably similar to watching your own child do something naughty.
Except this was when sin actually entered God’s perfect world.
A little worse, yes?
When Adam and Eve obeyed the snake instead of God, they awakened what separates us from God.
Our flesh crying out for control.
Wanting our way over God’s.
The desire to satisfy our flesh over God’s commandments.
Fulfilling that leads to sin.
What are you hiding from God?
Release everything to Him as He wants your everything.
Tell Him what you’ve been hiding, not sharing with a living soul.
Even to your old age I am He, and even to your advanced old age I will carry you! I have made you, and I will carry you; Be assured I will carry you and I will save you. Isaiah 46:4
Do you recognize the absolute pleasure of watching God take care of you?
We try so hard to control our worlds.
Our environments. Our decisions.
Our current and future moments.
We try, yet fail so often.
We can’t possibly ever reach perfection: perfect control of our worlds.
But that’s not our job. It’s God’s.
God is the one who controls all things.
He ultimately holds our breath in His hands.
When you try to manage yourselves, we rely on our own strength.
Our own wisdom.
Our own humanly flawed brains.
I for one don’t remember all I should. You?
Do you fret about it?
Suddenly become anxious when you, gasp, mess up?
You shouldn’t. Just try your best. God’s got the rest.
Went to a fun Mexican restaurant last weekend with my sweet husband.
For some reason, I used my credit card to pay and we went on our merry way.
The next day, I was first at the register, so I reached into my wallet to pay for our mulch and plants.
My credit card was missing!
My husband paid our bill, and we discussed where the card could possibly be.
At the restaurant from the night before!
Quickly we called and sure enough, it was waiting for me. No extra charges, just a sad, lonely card.
What a relief! I’m coming!!
Here’s where God comes into this picture: I rarely pay a store when the two of us are together.
What if I had not tried to pay for our mulch?
When would I have noticed the missing card?
Probably days later as I am a school teacher, never needing my card during the week.
God prompted me to use it, so I would notice it’s absence.
Isn’t God so kind?
But that’s His heart.
We learn a lesson (take back your card when you pay!), but He gently guides us along the way.
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. Isaiah 30:18
Morning dawned, and her alarm sounded.
Waking, the girl opened her eyes.
She stumbled out of bed, beginning her day.
Jesus was sitting on a chair by her bed. Waiting.
Returning to her room, she thought of opening her Bible and praying.
She wanted to, but realized she didn’t have the time. She was late.
And Jesus still sat, waiting.
After school the girl returned, but her phone begged for her attention.
Flopping down on the bed, she ignored the thoughts of reading the Bible.
Jesus was still there, waiting.
Dinner came and went. TV shows were watched. Homework completed.
Climbing into bed at the end of the day, the girl glanced at her Bible.
She wanted to read it, but her flesh cried out for sleep.
She mumbled a prayer as she closed her eyes.
And Jesus was still there, waiting.
He waited in her room every day.
He longed for a deeper relationship; He loved her so.
As the years went by, she changed houses and rooms, yet Jesus was always there. Waiting.
She had always grown up believing in Him, asking Him into her heart when she was young.
However, she had never really developed her relationship with God, putting it off even though she felt badly.
But Jesus never left. He was always there, waiting for her.
So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10
He’s here.
Picture Jesus sitting right here.
In the chair beside you.
He’s as near as your very breath.
He’s waiting for you to need Him.
He knows you need Him, more than you even realize, but He gives you that choice.
He knows your heart belongs to Him, but sometimes it wanders away a bit.
When your heart wanders, it seeks after things of this world instead of God.
Jesus is seeking the Father on your behalf.
Always in prayer for you.
Your needs. Your health.
Your very life.
Anticipating your sigh, He looks at you.
Love and sympathy pour from His eyes.
He sees you.
He knows you.
He has a plan for all your days.
Good things, hard things, and everything in between.
He longs to hear your heart.
To carry your burdens, big or small.
As you labor through this life, reach out to Jesus.
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. Psalm 139:23-24
You know my heart, Lord.
You created it.
You fashioned me in every way.
My talents.
My hopes.
My dreams – all of them are from You.
I want to know You more.
I want to trust You with all that I am.
The moment I wake, may You be on my mind.
When I close my eyes at night, may my thoughts remain on You.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. Romans 6:12-14
Did you catch that?
Sin will have NO dominion over you. Why? Because we are not under the law, but God’s grace.
We are no longer under the law because of Jesus’ payment on the cross for our many sins.
God’s grace covers us, removing the burden of our sin.
But Paul starts this passage with a warning: don’t let sin reign, or have control, in your body here on earth.
He recognizes we all have choices.
Hundreds of times each day, we choose whether to sin or not.
We often obey the passions or wants of our flesh even if they don’t line up with God.
But we don’t have to obey our flesh as sin has no power over us.
God’s power is bigger then the pull of our flesh which leads to sin.
When we choose to sin, we step out of grace.
We step out of what God has for us. What He wants for us, which is way better then what we want.
But when we repent, choosing instead to obey God, we step back into His grace.
We step back into what He has for us.
Recognize your choices.
Purpose to choose life each day.
It’s often incredibly hard as the pull of our fleshly desires is strong.
But sin has no dominion over us because of Jesus.
Live under Jesus’ power and authority over sin, death, and the grave in your life.
He’s your constant Protector, always ready to help when you simply choose Him over all else.
Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Ephesians 4:20-21
Are you ready for God to work in your life?
He is.
He is more than ready.
Are you?
Are you willing to put in the work?
Meaning, set yourself aside so God can use you?
You might say yes, but do you understand the cost?
It could cost relationships that are dear to you.
It could bring you confusion at times when you fail to understand His plans.
And it could cost you your very life.
But God is able to do more than we could ever possibly think or imagine.
Imagine allowing Him to use you as He sees fit.
He has great plans for you.
Jeremiah 29:11 reminds us that For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God’s perfect peace surrounds you when you are within His will.
When you suspend your personal desires for God’s instead.
His plans for you might include simply loving others who utterly dislike your existence.
You can remain peaceful, simply loving, not retorting anger for anger.
Or He might have you react in a kind way when every fiber of your being screams for justice.
God is more than able to provide you the strength only He can to fulfill the plans He has for you.
Big or small, the plans He has for you are so good.
Allow Him full access knowing He is able to do far more than we could possibly imagine.
Apart from God, we are one thing.
But working together with Him is another matter entirely.
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2
Are you running into the freedom God has for you?
Running from the lies you have believed?
Running from the temptations that once held you captive?
Running from the ill reactions you normally exhibit?
Malachi reminds us that when you fear God’s name, when you are His beloved child, He will respond with healing.
Healing your mind.
Healing your will.
Healing your emotions.
When you ask Him to change you, freeing you from nasty ingrained responses, He will.
He promises you will not only be free, but you will run like a wild animal.
Uncontrollably free.
Decide to trust Him.
Read His word, worship, and pray.
And run as you are free.
Smile because you are loved.
Rejoice because you are His.
There is no turning back.
Every time you are tempted to return to the pit, align yourself with God and run free towards Him instead.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practicers and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its Creator. Colossians 3:9-10
Have you put on your new self?
The one God created you to live within?
Entering into our relationship with God, He forgives our sin away.
Our old selves.
But it tends to sneak back.
Our old habits, thoughts, actions, desires, and selves.
Yes, we are still the Lords, but we begin acting as if we are not.
We forget who we have become.
We forget Whose we now are.
Colossians 3 reminds we have put down our old self and its practices.
Our old habits. Our selfishness. Our life apart from God.
Instead, we have put on our new selves.
Our new identity as God’s.
And our new identity is continually renewed within the knowledge that we are created in God’s very image.
But as Colossians reminds us, it’s a choice.
When life happens, what self will you put on?
Will you react within your old habits of fear and inadequacy?
Or will you react within your new self, wrapped in God’s image of peace, love, and joy?
Notice which you choose.
And purpose to dress within your new self: the very image of God.
Photos by https://unsplash.com/@brodatafotografia, https://unsplash.com/@beccamchaffie, https://unsplash.com/@belart84
And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you. for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2 Corinthians 12:9
Ever thanked God for your temptations or weaknesses?
For how you are tempted to sin?
There are many ways we can be tempted in our flesh.
Eating too much, addictions to sugar, alcohol, drugs, or technology.
Reacting in anger, putting others down, or thinking of ourselves always first.
Even wanting to do the right thing, whatever it may be, but instead listening to our flesh, following it instead.
What are your temptations or your weaknesses?
Have you thanked God for them?
Thanked God for being weak?
I know, sounds foreign. Almost like why would I thank God for where I am weak?
When you thank God, you recognize your need for His power through you.
You recognize your need for His strength covering your weakness with His power.
Your need for not only God’s saving grace, but His every day grace transforming you into your new person God created you to become.
When you thank God, you allow His power to shine through your weakness as resisting your temptation is possible through God alone.
2 Corinthians reminds us to boast in our weakness. To recognize them positively.
Because God shines through our weakness, making us strong.
If you had everything all together, all your ducks in a row, why would you need God?
Why would you need to rely on His strength?
You wouldn’t. You’d be fine on your own. You’d never admit your need for a Savior.
We are human. Flawed. Weak.
But when we submit our weak selves unto Almighty God, we are transformed, slowly, into His likeness.
Thank Him today for your flaws. For where you are weak. When temptation knocks at your door.
Then respond with God’s strength. He’ll shut the door for you.
And you’ll rest peacefully, knowing you don’t have to do it all.
As I’ve prayed during these last dozen years, I’ve purposely begged God to fling WIDE the doors He has chosen for me and to SLAM shut the doors not in His plan.
When you are walking through darkness during a season of complete uncertainty, you need His light to guide you.
You rely on His guidance.
I like the analogy of open and shut doors; although, I added an extra measure of assurance.
I wanted to easily walk through to His plan or get slammed in the face with a resounding NO.
Might as well be crystal clear, am I right?
I’ve had many doors open with ease: graduate degrees, student teaching, first job, and marrying the right man just to name a few.
I’ve also had plenty of slammed doors, mostly in the area of dating the wrong men before I married my husband. Giggle.
Guess what?
Those slammed doors are a whole lot of fun.
It’s a joy to know which man God did NOT have hand picked for me.
Back in the day, one date never showed up after weeks of talking on the phone.
He would have been my first date post divorce.
It was the weirdest thing, but God knew best.
I won’t lie – I was bitterly disappointed for a few hours.
My pride was wounded.
But I turned my focus to God and realized it was simply a closed door.
And each closed door moves you closer to a door flung wide open!
Another story? Well, a different date ended in disaster after he told me he had been ‘quite bored’.
I was sitting at home when I got that text.
I began to laugh.
This man had spent the previous two weeks proclaiming his devotion and wondering ‘where I had been his whole life’.
He was also a Christian, but every time he called, I almost broke out into a sweat, because he was easily offended.
Not a good sign!
This guy was the one missing out on me.
It was his loss, certainly not mine.
When the ground shakes from a slammed door, get on your knees and thank God for having your back.
He knows what is best for you.
Because God flung wide the door with my beloved almost a decade ago, I am even more grateful for the closed doors.
I mean, God saved me from a lifetime of misery with the wrong man.
How can a girl not get on her knees thanking God for that?
When God answers you, it may be in a way you absolutely never expected.
Trust Him.
You pray for open and shut doors and wisdom for a lunch date.
The door slams shut.
Why? Because the date never shows up.
Recognize God’s shouts after you’ve ignored His whispers.
Yes, God will communicate to you, but we must listen.
And after listening, we must trust that yes, God still knows what He’s doing even after we hate His answer.
Pray for those doors.
Ask your friends and family to pray for you in this way.
Out loud with words or crying out within your soul?
David, the man after God’s own heart, did many times.
This Psalm is one example.
He starts by royally complaining.
From the depths of his soul he wonders how long God will forget him.
How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (verse 1)
He then tries to console himself.
We all do, when we fail to hear from God.
Or we think we don’t.
He forgets he can choose to praise God instead.
He focuses, instead, on his sorrow.
Again, like we all do.
David goes on: How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? (verse 2).
David again pleads, sharing with God he will die if his sorrow remains apart from God’s peace.
He desperately wants God to intervene so his enemies don’t take pleasure in David’s weakness.
Consider and answer me, O Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. (verse 3 & 4).
David ends the psalm by choosing to praise God.
He remembers how faithful God has been to him.
That, in turn, helps David realize God will again bring him out of the depths.
But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me. (verse 5 & 6).
Maybe David has found the key.
The key to reconnecting our mind, soul, and body to the One who created us.
Praise.
Choosing to praise even in the midst.
Even when every fiber of our being wants to remain wallowing in the pit of self pity.
Praise the Lord even if.
Praise the Lord even if you don’t feel like it.
You will remember how faithful He has always been in every circumstance.
And you will suddenly lift your eyes, knowing He will once again show Himself.
Amy Linnea 
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