Just Turn On The Light

"For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life."
Proverbs 6:23 (NKJV)

Imagine being in a dark room, and you need some light.  And imagine you were next to what you knew was a light switch that could turn on the light.  What would you do in this situation?  Would you call out to a friend in another room to come and turn on the light for you?  Would you just give up and sit on the floor thinking that maybe it is better not to be able to see anything, or would you just do the simple thing of turning on the light?  It is hard to imagine that someone would not use the easiest solution and turn on the light with the switch that is already there.

So many people are looking for direction and help in finding the right thing to do, in specific situations and in life in general.  This is one of the biggest areas that people deal with, and it seems to be one of the hardest things for many people to figure out.  Christians want to do God's will, but exactly what is it?  It seems that many people look mainly for some spectacular or supernatural external way to be directed, and there is a place for that, but there is always a place for us to get direction from God's Word and the principles that God has already given us.

As we see in verses like Proverbs 6:23 and Psalm 119:105, God's Word is a lamp, and a light that will give us direction and guidance.  Getting "light" and direction from God can be as simple as the Holy Spirit reminding us of a Scripture, but it can also involve our searching the Scripture to find the guidance we need for our life, and for individual situations.  Sometimes people are looking for a dramatic, external way to "turn on the light" of wisdom and direction, while missing the easy way of just receiving light and direction through God's Word.  The light is there, in God's Word, we just need to "turn it on."

Every Part Is Valuable

"But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.
And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."
No, much rather, those members of the body which seem to be weaker are necessary."
1 Corinthians 12:20-22 (NKJV)

Playing chess can be complicated, because there are several different pieces on a chess board, and there are a variety of things those chess pieces can do.  You have to know how all the pieces work to do your best.  What would happen if someone played a game of chess with only half of the usual pieces, or if they had no idea how the different pieces moved?  Most likely, that person would do poorly.  But, if you had a person who was skilled at chess, and they knew how the pieces can move, that person would do well.

Some people think that there are only some Christians that God has a plan and a purpose for.  Every Christian, every part of the Body of Christ is valuable, and God knows this.  The devil knows this too, and he wants to limit our usefulness to God by trying to convince us that we are not necessary for God's plan.  But God wants to use all of us to do His will, and just like the natural body has many parts that all need to function correctly for the body to be healthy and do what it should, the same is true with the Body of Christ.  

God has a plan for each person and a way that He wants to use us.  And although we may have different functions in the Body of Christ, we are all a part of God's plan.  Just like every piece on a chessboard is valuable, and has a part to play, every part of the Body of Christ is valuable and has a part to play.  God knows us and how we can best function, but do we know that?  Are we doing things according to God's plan, or our own plan?  We all need to recognize our true value, understanding how God will use us, and be prepared to do our part in God's plan.

Are Big Steps The Best Steps?

"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps."
Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

When you are going somewhere, normally you want to get there sooner rather than later.  But if our goal is simply to get to our destination as soon as possible, we could actually go faster than we should and miss something along the way that could be important.  Or if we are in such a hurry to get to some place, we may accidentally leave something behind and not bring it with us on our journey.  The goal is not really how fast we get somewhere, but to get to where we need to be, with what we need to have when we get there.

Usually, when we have a goal in mind, the thing we obviously want to do is to reach that goal.  But we can make a mistake by just focusing on the goal itself and not on the best way to reach that goal.  We might think that the fastest way is always the best way, but that may not always be true.  We may think that if we can take one big step in the right direction it would be great, but is a big step always the best step to take?  It could be that we are trying to take a bigger step than we should take, or that we are able to take, and that can cause a problem.

Proverbs 16:9 tells us that our heart may plan the way, but God will direct our steps.  Moving in the right direction is more important than the size of the steps we take, or the speed we are going.  It is better to take the steps God directs us to take towards our goals, and in life in general, rather than just trying to take a big step that we may not be ready for; or we could be moving too quickly, and going in the wrong direction, which would be bad.  The steps we take, big or small, and the speed we are moving, are not as important as the direction we are going. 

A Trusted Source?

"But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,"
and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."
2 Timothy 3:14-15 (NKJV)

Today, it seems that everyone has an opinion on almost everything.  With the Internet, and social media, no matter what the topic is, you can find a lot of ideas and opinions about almost anything.  But we really need to know if that person, institution, or group that we are getting the information from is a reliable, and trusted source for the information.  How well do we know that source?  Do they always give good, reliable information that can be trusted?   If not, it would be foolish to get any advice from them.

Trust is not something that is built overnight, but when you know that someone is a trusted source of information, you can take their advice and the information that they give you.  There are many people and places we can get information from, but not every source is one we can always trust and rely on.  There are many people who could, and who would like to, give us information and advice, but are they a trusted source?  We need to test all things and hold on to what is good, which includes the source of our information.

In 2 Timothy 3, Paul told Timothy to continue with the things that he had learned, because Timothy knew who he had learned those things from.  Paul was not just someone who showed up one day and started to teach Timothy and give him advice.  Paul had taught Timothy, and he had a good relationship with him, so Paul was a trusted source that Timothy could rely on.  We should not just accept teaching or take advice from someone we have no real relationship with.  We can always trust the Word of God, but not every source of information is a source that we can trust.

Are These Your Only Choices?

"Thus Jesse made seven of his sons pass before Samuel.  And Samuel said to Jesse, "The Lord has not chosen these."
And Samuel said to Jesse, "Are all the young men here?"  Then he said, "There remains yet the youngest, and there he is, keeping the sheep."  And Samuel said to Jesse, "Send and bring him.  For we will not sit down till he comes here."
1 Samuel 16:10-11 (NKJV)

Having a wide variety of choices is often a good thing.  If you want to eat at a restaurant, there are different places that you could go.  But what if there was one restaurant located next door to you, but it did not have the kind of food you wanted, and it was more expensive than what you were willing to pay?  And what if there were other restaurants to choose from, but they were not as close to you?  Would you just go to the restaurant that was nearby, or would you go a bit farther to the place you really wanted to eat at?  Sometimes our choices are only as limited as we allow them to be.

When God directed Samuel to go to the home of Jesse to find the new king, Jesse showed Samuel seven of his eight sons, leaving David out of the group.  After Samuel had seen the first seven sons, he knew that none of them were God's choice.  Samuel could have just said, "Well, none of these are the right one, but these seem to be the only choices that I have, so I will just pick one of them and move on."  Samuel could have done that, but he would have missed what God wanted to do.  Samuel knew what God had said, and Samuel was not willing to settle for anything less than what God had promised.

Sometimes, when we see something in God's Word, we then pray and take a stand in faith, but we do not see the results we expect.  This is when the devil will tell us that we cannot have and experience what God has said, and our choices are limited to something that does not really agree with God's Word or meet the need.  That is when we need to make the choice to stay with what God has said.  No matter what choices it seems like we are facing, we must choose to believe that what God says is true, and take a stand on that to receive what we need; that is our choice.