An Incredible Opportunity

Watch over your heart with all diligence,
For from it flow the springs of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

After three weeks in college, I failed the first test I faced. This failure was one the best things that could have happened to me because it helped me to realize the truth. I had been subconciously thinking that I could be successful with the same slack or non-existent study habits that I had used in high school. But, this test failure exposed reality. It was one of the few times that I prayed while in college. But, I sincerely asked God to help me change and He did. Miraculously, I began to exercise self-discipline and to diligently study in all my subjects. By believing and acting on the revealed truth, I found new life as a student.

Many of us are taking in and believing lies or false philosophies. For example, we are told that music will not affect us morally. Yet, a movie maker carefully considers the music to be used in each scene. Movie makers know that music can be used to change the emotional and even the moral climate that is communicated in that scene. This exposes the lie. We are constantly bombarded with lies in many areas. Yet, it is incredibly easy to drift along with our defenses down, soaking in lies and truth without using any effective discernment.

If our inner thoughts are guided by God's perspective, then we will obviously avoid many foolish failures. Wisdom is seeing things from God's perspective. It is vitally important to our life for us to soak in God's Word and to seek His perspective on our goals, values and tribulations. Oftentimes, I want to reject the truth because it reveals my failure or weakness. Yet, we are called into the light of the truth. It took a failure for me to wake up to my need to make changes in my study habits. It is only when we face the truth about ourselves, admit our need and embrace a new path that we have any hope of finding genuine love, joy or success. Our next problem, trial or failure could be an incredible opportunity to discover life-giving wisdom that changes our heart and life. Don't let that opportunity slip through your fingers.