Devotion of the Week

Lend Me Your Ear

“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” —Proverbs 12:15 (TNIV)

It’s a foolish girl who thinks she never needs advice. Fools think that their opinions and actions are always right and that they know exactly what to say and do in every situation. A truly wise girl knows that she needs the advice of godly people.

At lunchtime Kylie was falsely accused by a teacher of leaving a pool of spilled milk on the floor. She hadn’t done it, and she fumed as she cleaned up the mess. As she stewed, she mentally rehearsed what she intended to say to that lunchroom monitor. After all, she had to defend herself. She only planned to tell the truth. That teacher had no right to accuse her! When Kylie got through with her, that teacher would be begging for her forgiveness. Kylie’s best friend tried to talk her out of having that heated confrontation, but Kylie wouldn’t listen. After all, she was 100 percent right. What could be wrong with telling off that mean teacher? (As it turned out— a lot. Kylie ended up in detention for how she expressed herself.)

The Bible warns about the consequences we’ll receive if we refuse to be guided by others’ godly opinions. “Where there is no guidance the people fall, but in abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 11:14 NASB). Why is it so important to listen to others? Because we are so easily fooled into thinking we’re doing the right thing. We can be very sincere in our beliefs—but still be sincerely wrong. “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 16:25 TNIV).

Be smart. Get advice from trusted people before making your decisions.

 

More Devotions to Get You Thinking

The Tough Get Going

We boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring. - 2 Thessalonians 1:4

Even when severely tested, believers should be faithful. Keep your trust in God firm. Continue your course of action despite hardships you are living
through. You’ve looked forward to middle school for two years. In middle school you can be on a gymnastics team. You’ve taken gymnastics classes since you were four years old, and you secretly dream of competing in the Olympics one day. But from the first day of practice, you’re so disappointed. The coach doesn’t like you for some reason. He criticizes you
constantly, even though you know you’re better than anyone else who tried out. A few weeks into practice, you
see the coach give one of the girls a big hug, and you ask a team member about it. “You mean
Rachel? That’s Coach’s kid. He’s determined that she’s going to be a gold medal winner or something.” Now you understand the persecution you’ve been receiving. Coach wants his own daughter to be the best. You pray about it, and you decide to stay on the team. You’ll just dig in and work hard, keeping your eye on your long-term Olympic goal.
There’s an old saying: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” That means persevering through trials and mistreatment. (Note: persecution means the trials you endure that are not your fault. Punishment for wrongdoing is not persecution—it’s just consequences for wrong actions.) “We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they are good for us—they help us learn to endure. And endurance develops strength of character in us” (Romans 5:3—4 NLT). So be tough— and get going!

 

Mountain-Moving Faith

I assure you, even if you had faith as small as a mustard seed you could say to this mountain, “Move from here to there,” and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. Matthew 17:20 (NLT)

Jesus promises that you can do mighty things, even if your trust in him is as tiny as a mustard seed—smaller than an ant! You can say to some problem that appears huge, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Jesus said there is nothing that can’t be accomplished or handled. Nothing!

Do you have a mountain in your life, one that is an obstacle to you? A mountain of family problems, or money problems? Maybe it’s how you feel about your physical appearance. Maybe it’s your difficulty studying and remembering your school work. God is in the mountain-moving business. Our part is to believe—to have faith—that he can do it.

When you trust, sometimes he suddenly takes care of the problem for you; he may remove a person from your life or give you an after-school job out of the blue. Or he sends a person to help you who knows just what to do. Often God personally shows you, step by step, the things you can do to solve the problem. They’re usually things you had never considered—and wouldn’t have thought of on your own. “What is impossible with men is possible with God.” (Luke 18:27 NIV) The most important thing in receiving God’s help is not our faith (which can be small), but his great faithfulness to keep his Word. We don’t need self-confidence, but we need God-confidence.

Do you want greater faith? Faith is like a muscle. It only gets stronger by using it. Put your faith in God today, and watch that mountain start to move!

 

Lend Me Your Ear
“The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice.” —Proverbs 12:15 (TNIV)

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