| So a funny thing happened yesterday. Well, funny to me. After I finished writing and uploading yesterday’s devotional, older ones starting playing. I let them play as I finished some other work. Then I heard something familiar from a three-year old devotional. Three years ago, I used the illustration about receiving a Catholic blessing. The same illustration I used in yesterday’s devotional. I know. I didn’t say is was a gut-wrenchingly funny thing. For me, it was another sign it’s time to take a break. Time for renewal and rest. Do you know when it’s time for you to take one of those breaks? What do you do about it? Remember the “you’re not you when you’re hungry” Snickers commercials? Well, I’ll say, “You’re not you when you’re worn out and drained. Fatigue can make you more annoyed than you should be. Maybe even more annoying. We weren’t designed to run on all cylinders all day every day. God designed rest into our well being and health. Now, it may surprise you. Today’s devotional isn’t about rest. It’s about wisdom. Rest is the illustration. Proverbs 2 tells us “The Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” God has given me the wisdom to understand when I need rest. Wisdom has taught me what running myself ragged can do to my health, my family and even my ministry. And wisdom has trained me to make sure none of that happens. You don’t get wisdom just by getting older. A repeated theme in Proverbs is that wisdom begins with seeking God. It’s an active process. Wisdom herself is pleading for us to pay attention to her instruction. But you know how we can be. Using the rest illustration again, think of a toddler. The cruelest thing you can do to a young child is tell them they’re tired. They’ll beg you to believe them they are not. Nevermind the fact they can’t keep their eyes open. They have a wobbly walk and they’re not their playful selves. But they’re not tired! Those young people don’t know wisdom quite yet. They can’t make sense of what they’re feeling and aren’t interested in your sleep advice. When we don’t learn to hear God’s wisdom, we can be like sleepy toddlers. So, how do we pay attention to wisdom? Well, if we know it comes from God, start there. Pray for wisdom. Ask the Lord to lead you to wise saints. And pay attention to how wisdom is trying to guide you. Stay blessed…john |
John Fletcher
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