"The Keys to a Blessed Life" in American Sign LanguageSample

Depend on God’s Wisdom, Not Yours
By Rick Warren

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil.” (Proverbs 3:5-7 NLT, second edition)

Have you ever had a feeling that something was so very, very right, and then when you did it, it ended up being so very, very wrong?

Feelings lie. They lie to you all the time! An old country song says, “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” Are you kidding me? There are a lot of wrong things that feel so right at the moment.

After six months in a relationship, you wonder, “What was I thinking?” Just a few months into a job, you think, “How in the world did I get messed up in this?” A quick decision that seemed harmless at the time leaves you broken and scarred years later.

If you want to have fewer dead ends and failures in your life, you need to hear what the Bible says in Proverbs 3:5-7: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the LORD and turn away from evil” (NLT, second edition).

If you really want God’s blessing on your life, you must depend on God’s wisdom and not what your feelings or gut says. Trust in the Lord and not on your own understanding.

So, how do you get God’s wisdom?

You pray. You talk to God and let him talk to you by reading the Bible. That’s how you get God’s wisdom.

The Bible says in James 1:5, “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you” (NIV).

God doesn’t want you to make dumb mistakes. He doesn’t want you to hit dead ends or go through failure after failure in your life. God wants you to succeed. He wants you to make wise decisions with your time, money, and relationships.

It’s not like you’re waiting on him for his help. He’s waiting on you! God says, “Hey! I’m here. I’ll give you wisdom, and I’ll give it generously. I’m not grudging about it. I want to make you wise. You’ve just got to ask.”

If you want to be blessed, you’ve got to get God’s wisdom. If you want God’s wisdom, you must get in God’s Word.

Talk It Over

Think of a time in your life when you depended on your feelings to make a big decision. What was the result?

How does God speak to you? How do you know it’s his voice speaking to you?

Why do you think it’s so important to spend time with God every day if you want to know his will for your life?