Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
How do you handle plot twists when things start going one direction and then take a sharp right and you weren't prepared for it? Today's Verse of the Day might actually help you if you're facing a plot twist in your life.
It comes from Proverbs chapter 2, verse 11. "Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe."
The Fail Video
We're going to play the other side of this coin. Have you ever seen the “fail” videos? Honestly, I feel a little guilty about this. They’re a guilty pleasure of mine. I don't know what it is about watching someone wipe out that just makes me laugh, but I love these videos.
Imagine this one with me. There's a man that gets out of his van. He's carrying two gallons of milk and his driveway is icy and it has a steep decline. If you're using your imagination, you can probably see what's going to happen next. Your brain is telling you, getting out of the van like that is not a good idea. You're not going to make it to the porch. That's wisdom. Wisdom is saying, if you do this, it may not end well for you.
Now, if you play the video out in your imagination, you see the guy wipe out, and the milk goes everywhere. The moment he hits the pavement, you feel it. Why do you think you felt it? You weren't in the video. It's probably because you have some element of understanding for what that pain felt like.
Wisdom and Understanding
Do you see how you've got this mixture of wisdom and understanding? Wisdom will tell you, hey, you should avoid this because on the other side of it, something could happen. But understanding is the experience. You've lived it, so when you see someone else going through it, you actually feel what they're feeling.
That's why this Scripture is here. It's here to remind us that no matter what we face or what we go through, wisdom will help us make the right decisions. If you're wondering, Landon, how am I supposed to know what wisdom is? There's a passage in James that actually talks about if you lack wisdom, you can ask God and He'll give it to you. It also says in the Word—the book of Proverbs—wisdom is all over the place in here. If you have a question about how to deal with the things you're facing, maybe you don't have an answer. The Word is the perfect place to turn.
How to Grow in Wisdom
Now let's take it even more local. Let's say you don't even know how to read the Bible yet. You're just getting started and you need help. The importance of being surrounded by Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians in your church will be such a helpful tool for you as you're growing in what wisdom looks like for you. The Bible actually even describes the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of wisdom and understanding. You are set up for success.
If you trust the Lord to give you wisdom, you ask for it and you challenge it according to the Word, you'll have a fail-proof method of making sure that what you're hearing is actually from the Lord. Understanding helps you to connect with somebody as they're going through what they're going through. All of this, when you fit it together, it's not just something to hold on to. It's something to walk out with people. It's something to give away as freely as you have been given wisdom and understanding.
Walk with people through their situations, with what you've learned from the Lord, and point them back to Jesus in every step they take, and you guys will be moving closer to Him together.
