INTERIOR SILENCE

“Be still, and know that I am God!”  (Psalm 46:10a)

God is our true Friend, who always gives us the counsel and comfort we need. Our danger lies in resisting Him; so it is essential that we acquire the habit of hearkening to His voice, or keeping silence within, and listening so as to lose nothing of what He says to us.  We know well enough how to keep outward silence, and to hush our spoken words, but we know little of interior silence.  It consists in hushing our idle, restless, wandering imagination, in quieting the promptings of our worldly minds, and in suppressing the crowd of unprofitable thoughts which excite and disturb the soul. 

-- François Fénelon (1651-1715) 

#5302

THE CORE TO WISDOM

If you want wisdom, don’t try to obtain it all by yourself. Get wise counsel. Get around people whose character you trust, who have good judgement, who love you, and who care about your well-being. Tell them, “I have this decision to make. Speak into my life.” Very often God speaks wisdom into us through somebody else.

Solomon, the icon of wisdom in the Old Testament, wrote Proverbs 12:15: “The way of fools seems right to them.” Why? Because they’re fools. That’s part of what it means to be a fool, and there is a fool in all of us. There is a fool in me. There is a fool in you.

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” A coachable spirit is core to wisdom. We all need this. 

-- Adapted from John Ortberg in “All the Places to Go… How Will You Know?”

#4876

ACCEPTING A HELPING HAND

“You guide me with Your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.” (Psalm 73:24 NLT)

When a steamship enters the harbor and seeks to dock, they call for a "pilot" to come aboard and steer the vessel to port...

We have all seen pictures of beautiful luxury liners steaming into New York harbor. They are splendid, gleaming, smooth, and self-sufficient -- until they get close to land. Then tiny little tugboats come alongside and gently nudge them toward the dock. These tiny boats ease them in the right direction so that their docking is safe and secure.

These ships are no less magnificent because they accepted help from a friendly little tugboat. We are no less magnificent if we, too, accept a helping hand [when we are in physical, emotional or spiritual need.]

-- Ted Menten in “After Goodbye”


#4246

SEEKING GOD’S WILL

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.”  (Acts 16:6 NIV)

We don’t know how the Holy Spirit told Paul that he and his companions should not go into Asia. It may have been through a prophet, a vision, an inner conviction, or some other circumstance. To know God’s will does not mean we need to hear His voice. He leads in different ways. When seeking God’s will, (1) make sure your plan is in harmony with God’s will; (2) ask mature Christians for their advice;  (3) check your own motives -- are you seeking to do what you want or what you think God wants? -- and (4) pray for God to open and close the doors as He desires. 

-- from “The Life Application Study Bible”

#4213