Wise in your Own Eyes

"Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil."

Proverbs 3:7

You ever been told, 'you are too smart for your own good', if so, it certainly wasn't a compliment!  This is how I used to live my life, and this the way the world operates.  The culture we live in tells us that we can do it all on our own, we have a self-reliance that is admired, and we are taught to emulate that 'do it all' self as we grow up.  Our society admires the 'doers', that can seem to do everything on their own and don't need anyone else to help.  This style of living does not lead to lasting joy, peace, and love in the hearts of those that live this way.  The 'do it all' people, that don't require any help, always, at some point, end up tired, anxious, worried, depressed, angry, driven to despair and loneliness over time.  This is not the way the Lord wants you to live, and certainly not the kind of life He has in store for you.  In the ninth chapter of Proverbs it reads, "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is insight" (Pro. 9:10).  So often, we use our own wisdom and insight to guide all of our decisions in life.  For those of us in recovery, our sin becomes extremely evident as we chose to make our decisions, but the truth is that we need God's wisdom in our lives and not our own.  The beginning of wisdom is to fear the Lord.  What this is really saying, is that the beginning of wisdom is realizing that I am not God, and that I have respect for the Creator of the universe, and I become wiser as I honor that respect for God by humbly submitting my life to His will.  As we have 'fear for the Lord' or respect and reverence for His love and power in our lives, we will ultimately turn from evil, like the verse above states.  Rather than trust in your own wisdom today, have reverence for the God that made you.  Ask God for His wisdom in all your decisions and circumstances today.  Pray for His guidance in your life and to fill you with godly wisdom!  Living in godly wisdom, rather than our own, is the key to make good decisions and becoming more like Jesus!  Love you all!  Praying for you and yours!  Have a blessed day, it's your choice!