This week, we talked about chapters 4 and 5 in our study of The Best Yes. There’s so much meat in those chapters. When I originally typed meat, it was meet. That seems so appropriate as I think about it.
Finding wisdom is about the process of meeting with God, meeting with the Holy Spirit, and meeting with those who embrace and walk out wisdom.
That’s why I focused on this particular quote:
We have to put our hearts and our minds in places where wisdom gathers, not scatters.
Where do I invest my time? Who do I spend time with? What do I watch and read? Listen to? All of these either attract me to wisdom or foolishness. The small choices we make on a day to day basis add up to a lifetime of practicing one or the other. There’s something scary and profound about realizing that each small decision compounds. As one of the ladies in the study put it, somedays we feel like the verse that sums up 40 years of Moses’ life with one sentence. For us that might be that we raised kids for 20 years. We took care of someone for 10 years. For Moses, he tended sheep for 40 years. A segment of time compressed into one, oh-so-small sentence.
Yet the daily consistency developed over time led to the character he needed for the next assignment. As I thought about it, it reminded me of Zechariah 4:10:
Do not despise the day of small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begun…
I have lived that. I’ve had God sit me down and explain to me that I was doing exactly that.
Ouch!
It’s in those daily decision to develop a process that repeats into an ingrained way of thinking that I develop the patterns of wisdom (and any other character trait). How do we live this?
1. Be consistent in the little decisions. As we’re faithful with small things, we can be trusted with more.
2. Repeat the process, even when it seems it’s not working. I often wonder if we stop praying and asking right before the breakthrough occurs.
3. Believe we can do anything through Christ who strengthens us. Apply this truth to the situations in our lives. Take it from the page into practice.
4. Take a step. We remain mired in our hopes and fears until we take a step. Write 300 words a day. Pray 5 minutes a day. The step may seem small, but it can launch you on a journey.
What would you add to the process?