“To God belong wisdom and power; counsel and understanding are His.”
Stephen Covey has a book called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The fifth habit he presents is to Seek First To Understand, Then To Be Understood. He writes, “…Most people listen with the intent to reply, not to understand. You listen to yourself as you prepare in your mind what you are going to say, the questions you are going to ask, etc. You filter everything you hear through your life experiences, your frame of reference. You check what you hear against your autobiography and see how it measures up. And consequently, you decide prematurely what the other person means before he/she finishes communicating.”
When you’re facing troubled times in life, do you seek God first to understand why He’s allowing you to be subject to such adversity or do you respond to your situation the best way you know how without fully understanding it? Whatever you’re experiencing, God knows because all wisdom belongs to Him and He alone has the power to redeem you out of your storm. Your storm may not be punishment, but God preparing you for your next promotion. Seek to understand God’s plan first and remove your filters, autobiography, and premature decisions. Jesus is preparing to do a new thing in your life.
Shhh… I’m listening
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“Heavenly Father, remove any spirit of selfish ambition or conceit in me. Strengthen me to esteem others better than myself. I am blessed and will not only look out for my own interest, but also for the interests of others. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”