| Through A Woman’s Eyes: Good Advice |
Martha Hynson mhynson1@gmail.com • www.welcomelord.com
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An Apple of Gold: Psalm 1:1-2 - Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
One day, many years ago, a friend of mine had just settled down on her sofa to watch her favorite show when the network interrupted the program with a severe weather warning. Being a sensible and cautious girl, she immediately went to her basement to wait out the storm. Thankful she had turned on the television and heard the warning so she could take cover, she sat and waited, hoping the storm would pass her by.
As I picture my friend sitting in her basement, I’m thankful for today’s technology which provides us with all sorts of helpful information that she didn’t have. Since this was before the days of smartphones or iPads, she was unable to check for weather updates, so she sat there alone for quite some time before she felt it was safe enough to venture out again. There was, however, one piece of technology which directly affected her situation. It’s called a VCR. She had used it to record her favorite show. The one that was interrupted by a severe weather warning. For a storm that no longer posed any threat at all.
Psalm 1:1 tells us not to follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. The trouble is bad advice can often sound good. All my friend lost from listening to false information was part of an afternoon, but sometimes heeding bad advice can have devastating results. In fact, it can cause us to miss out on the very life God has planned for us. Have you ever felt the Lord leading you to do something, but you didn’t do it because the people around you told you it was foolish and what they said kind of seemed to make sense? Or have you ever sensed God telling you not to take a certain path, but you went down it anyway because people who seemed to know what they were doing convinced you it was the best way to go? Have you ever “taken cover” in the things of this world instead of stepping out and trusting God because others told you that was a dangerous way to live? Has choosing to “play it safe” in life caused you to try to convince others to do the same?
Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.” So how do we know the right way to go? Well, just after Psalm 1:1 warns us against listening to the advice of the wicked, Psalm 1:2 says there is joy for those who delight in God’s word. He encourages us to get it into our hearts and minds and meditate on it day and night. He knows there are voices telling us things that aren’t true, so he invites us to search his word for truth. Unlike the world, though, his way is not to overwhelm. We have to seek out wisdom. My next devotion will focus on doing just that.
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