Nicole C: Obey When God Gives You Direction | FULL EPISODE | Better Together on TBN

I would compel them and even us to take it and give it to the Lord because he's still gracious and even in our foolishness he's still been good he's still been acting wisely on our behalf and um and so today can be a new day today can be a day of saying God I want to ask you for wisdom all right you know what I you know um what I'm about to read I want to read something really quickly from the scriptures and it's it's slightly offensive okay we're ready okay but I believe I believe that's what the Holy Spirit he he he does in our lives sometimes sometimes I think we're so geared especially in our culture in our society we are always wanting things that affirm us and that yeah and so sometimes if we're not careful we'll try and bend the word to us in our situations instead of us bending to it so when I say offensive I'm saying it in that regards because it's a standard yes it cannot bend you know what I'm saying even though it's live and it's sharp and it's active it won't dim It Shine to fit in with us he won't change his Essence to win favor with us right he is who he is and he calls us up and he still loves us as we are but he is unchangeable he can change his mind he cannot change his nature so therefore anyway we most of us we all all of us I'm sure we know this particular passage but I wanted to read the verses that go along with it this is James chapter 1 verse 5 that we've been talking about it says if any man lacks wisdom you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault and it will be given to you verse 6 but when you ask you must believe and not doubt say that again but when you ask you must believe and not doubt because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea blown and tossed by the wind verse 7 that person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord such a person now he even goes to dog them out such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do that's offensive to us these days because we really want to believe that if he says something I have a right I have the space to doubt it and it's so he's okay with it that's not what I just read he said if we're going to ask for wisdom we have to believe by faith without knowing the tangible of the wisdom that we have received it from God and we can't doubt and and when I was reading this again I was like it reminded me of the serpent in the garden you know when he came to Eve and said did God really say it's a an indictment on who God is he said no God knows that when you do this this is going to happen like basically God's lying yeah and so he's James is saying when you ask you must not doubt you can't be tossed back and forth you can't come and say well you know God you know what you're talking about this doesn't look right he's like do you want wisdom or do you not it's it's not uh you can have a both in and I think we have a culture of really that both and I can say I'm walking in faith and still do my own thing or I can contest this word like you know we can ask questions like our children can ask questions of us but there's a difference between asking a question for like like Mary asked in the Bible of Gabriel how is this going to be I'm going to be pregnant by you know the spirit of God how and then with the same Angel Zachariah asked the question and he was struck down you know what I'm saying but his question was one of more of I doubt what you say how do I know that you are telling me the truth how do I know that this is real opposed to I believe what you said is real can you give me some like how is this going to happen I'm not sure of the details because I don't understand I mean you know what I'm saying so the same Angel rebuked Zachariah struck him mute and answered Mary's question Gabriel was a offended because he said I stand in the presence of God yeah like I came to deliver a word to you and you're going to doubt yeah basically what I'm giving you so I think sometimes we minimize the power of Doubt against the word and the wisdom of God and we feel like it's it's a light indictment and God's like you asked me for something I gave it to you wow and now the audacity to say I don't know I don't know if I should trust you I'm God you know what I'm saying so I think if we put it in that perspective then when we do ask you know you know then we have to trust that okay God by faith I'm doing the next right thing the next best thing that comes because I'm believing by faith you've given me wisdom to receive God's wisdom we have to start from a position of I'm listening God it does matter what our heart posture is because it's with this attitude that we pray instead of coming to God and saying this is what I want this is how I want it to go when we don't but instead we have a posture of Lord I'm here as your child and because I know you want what's best for me I am open and I am listening and I am expectant that your voice is going to direct me in the best way that I should go and the Bible teaches that if we don't lean to our own understanding that we'll find a better solution and I used to do that with my my kids my I became a single mom at the age with my youngest son was 11 years old and we would have these conflicts and I was like I would go to God and say God I need wisdom and I tell my son I can't even answer you right now I have to ask God for wisdom because I don't know what to tell you because If I Tell You Out of My Flesh you're not even gonna like me right you know what I'm saying but I would ask God for wisdom and then I would do the next thing that came to mind and it and sometimes it was give me your phone sometimes it was you need to write a letter sometimes go in your room and read the word and come out and tell me what he said whatever it was I just did it believe in my faith that was the right answer and 10 times out of 10 it was the right answer the result was what it needed to have been because I asked for wisdom and I believe by faith I had received it and I acted accordingly and so and when I didn't do those things then my reward was Folly and it was proof that I should have done the wisdom test it's so funny how you talk about this how we will ask for something specific God gives us something specific they're like I don't know is that really you yeah I gave you that thing and now you're wondering if it was me absolutely yeah I had a um difficult situation this was probably like I don't know four years ago or something and we were going to remodel our bathroom we our house is built in 83 and so it's kind of dated and we were going to do like new tile and just some fun stuff or whatever this is years ago and so we had this contractor that was going to work on it and he was kind of like he was he was a real contractor but also just kind of like struggle you know like you just you just didn't really know like if he's like really gonna show up or whatever and so um we had paid the deposit which was half of what the full remodel which was going to be which is like thousands of dollars right and so this was a big thing we budgeted and saved for whatever and so um he was really struggling with the timeline of like showing up and when he was gonna make it happen and I was going to try to get it done before my I think this I guess before mayor Grace was born so this was around timing before I was gonna have my third baby well y'all coming close to the time of like we're kind of in that window where it's not going to get done I felt the Lord tell me give him the money cancel the project and give him the money wow and I was like no no that's a no and I just wrestle it made no sense in The Logical it made no sense of The Logical it felt wrong in the moral right of like like you're supposed to do this worked right like I wrestled and wrestled and wrestled it made no sense from The Logical to practical and the moral all that like it was like you're wrong that he's just gonna like because because I think we had talked about him giving me a refund and because he couldn't do it in time and I just kept following up and God was like leave him alone getting the money he owes me money so there was this one night and I was again praying for wisdom of like Lord like are you sure I know I've asked 100 times are you sure but like are you really sure because this feels crazy and we really need that money and da well that night we're I'm putting my kids to bed and they're snuggling in bed with me and my son Carter was you know I don't know four at the time and he said I want to read that book and he points to Oswald Chambers My Utmost For His Highest a light green for four years and I was like no no he doesn't want to read that book and he opens up he goes read this page four-year-old so I'll read that page and the words were something to the effect of woe unto you if you know what you're supposed to do and don't do it maybe God is trying to tell you and I'm like through the mouth of babes yeah wow the Lord was like Wow Christy I kind of felt like it was this is your last chance I've told you what to do yeah I want you to obey now wouldn't you know and I don't I don't want to go down this path of like getting to all this but it doesn't always happen like this but a month later we get a check from a project of one of my husband's buildings and don't you know it was double exactly it was overage the overage we had a number we expected the overage was double the amount that we had given the contract and I still don't know what happened if he needed it does it matter wow but it goes back to what you said where we ask Lord give me wisdom he gives it to us and we still are like I'm not sure yeah yeah but it's like I love those words from my four-year-old yeah woe unto you yeah if you know what you're supposed to do and don't you yes and I love that story and yours as well because I feel like the holy spirit's so faithful to nudge yeah we're struggling and God is like holy poking right like just regularly reminding us but one of the things that I love about the character of God is God never forces yeah God didn't force you to do it because a loving father doesn't Force us a loving father wants to grow our obese and in both of those stories right it's it's the opportunity for us to continue to walk out what does wisdom look like here right and so often we don't want to do it I think it's those moments in time when we just slow down for a minute to hear from God to just give him a listening ear because he's always speaking to us I think the closer we get to him the easier it is to hear him um he can he can answer in the when he can answer in the Thunder but normally he talks into still Small Voice and you've got to get close enough to listen in thinking about them thinking of Proverbs I love the version where it says the world of the generous yes gets larger and larger wow and I'm thinking in that application that for a young couple to give up money I mean that's a big deal little kids you could you need it for a lot of things but the Holy Spirit was telling you something that you couldn't know see a god wisdom moment and there's another point to always remember there's two kinds of sin there's the sin of commission where I do the wrong thing but there's the sin of oh Mission that's right where I didn't do what I could have done and I really think that often for the believer who's asking for this Divine and don't we all want the god idea the better the Divine and your testimony right there is so amazing because you linked it to something that happened good to you later and I do think that's an important point of that story that you had felt this calling to have a big world and to just say okay I don't understand it but I'm not going to get trapped in that pit of um arguing you know our friend John bevere he wrote an amazing book about Satan's bait and the idea there that the devil ensnares us into conflict with people not when we're even wrong see this is the good point that I I think it's right you were right see being right is overrated yeah say it again being right is overrated because being right didn't keep you on the road the Upward Road to your prosperity which was what having all that you need to do what God called you to do and you could have become ensnared in that trap of taking an offense and being right and by the way you can hire lawyers you can get your mother you can get your sister and they'll all agree right that's right you were right absolutely and that by cracking that guy he's ripping people off and then you can do the whole thing that he's probably ripping other people oh yeah and we've got to protect the community from this time you can do that it's very real we laugh but that's very real it could happen so now you've got everybody on your side and in the meantime Satan the evil one he has trapped you and your husband and your family and your community not to the positive new creative fresh redeemed flow right you're out of the flow you're over there in the pit being right yeah one of the things we are really good at slash guilty of is getting people on our team and making a whole case for ourselves and it brings me back to what you started with Nicole and that is that God is not interested in bending towards us our case no our position of rightness he will not and so almost when we bolster ourselves up with all these people that are yes yes yes you're right it keeps us I think from even hearing from God's wisdom because we've got so much noise that are just talking carried about with everywhere yes yes and it becomes it can be a barrier for us for women see and I think that's an important Point totally you were right in the face of the lie you were right in the face but the Holy Spirit was revealing to use you to minister to somebody who needed it amen right right and so that thing and to teach you that money was not the source to begin with that's such a barrier though because if if I was so busy calling all my friends like oh can you believe this guy you won't hear no so you will begin to to drown out that Holy Spirit and we all have those we all have those opportunities yeah like I love how you said even in parenting that you'll go I need wisdom in this moment I don't do that that was convicting for me I don't I'm like listen give me that phone give me everything get in your room you're making me crazy I don't have anywhere else but but for us to remember that in any situation big small or in between we can ask God God what do you want me to do here yeah and then when he answers to obey connect with us on social media like comment and share your favorite moments from today join the conversation with women all over the world getting better together foreign it's like he will continue to stretch you like oh you you got here good for you okay we're gonna go here we're gonna go here he's gonna continually make you uncomfortable as you grow and wisdom and we never arrive we never get there and go I've made it nailed it got an A plus I can take a different class right we're always being stretched and so I think we remember that then when we get to that place it's not like oh uh this is a scary place this is I've done something wrong it's like no no this is right where we're supposed to be he's asking you he's asking you he's asking us to do things that are new and uncomfortable yeah God has always been more interested in me becoming more courageous than more comfortable you know and there have been times where I'm like Lord please please I I just a few days a few days of comfort right but he's always stretching my courage and I feel like often it has to do with this area of being right yeah and and we have such a propensity to be right and I feel like oftentimes the question is what do you value more do you want to be right or do you want to do right that's right do you want to do what is righteous like what the lord requires of you and there's so much more joy when you do what's right it is a work in progress of me saying okay God help me to continue to um put other people in front of me to not to say it's all about me and my will you know even in my relationship my husband I love my husband to pieces you know my husband is an alpha male I'm an alpha female hey you know what I'm saying um but there are times that even in us becoming one that we have to say okay let me step back and prefer you let me humble myself and and actually when both of us decide to Humble ourselves we seem to have the best outcome on the decision when we decide to say okay I know I've done it this way and I've had success in the past and you've done it that way you've had success in the past well right now who's always going to win we both go okay well come let us reason you know let's find a compromise or let me try your way no go let me try it let me try your Wednesday when we do that I'm telling you it's like God allows our position of humbling ourselves of taking the back seat to actually be the best thing that could have happened to the whole scenario think of how many relationships we've screwed up because we wanted to be right you're right where do you think that comes from I was just thinking right where does that come from our pride like like even let's Camp there for a second like because it just eats away at all of us we all have the desire it's not a personality style like we all have this need to like be right have the last word and it gets us in trouble the scripture says our pride it comes from the devil right yeah and that feeling of defensiveness right I think we get scared that who's going to come to my defense we don't want to take responsibility for maybe where we've done wrong or have made a mistake and so we armor up right we we put up our defenses and I think some of the most beautiful moments that um you know I think about in my marriage right and and the different times where I've been defensive or when I've wanted to be right right and and Jared is wrong and and I try to point it out to him uh we had this amazing new uh counselor that we started meeting with and we're just having these moments where there wasn't any big major blow up but we just we're missing each other right and so we're like okay let's bring somebody in to to talk this through and her name is Joy she's incredible and I remember her in in the very first session she's like okay what I want you to do is I want you to turn and face each other and I want you to answer this question the way that I'm bringing disconnection to our relationship is by and I'm like well you just go start with owning it yeah the way you are bringing what we have to do is reverse this like I'd like to point out how Jared not bringing connection to our relationship and you know we chuckled and we laughed and and she led us back and forth and I watched as we took ownership as we really looked inside over how we kept trying to be right I watched that defensiveness melt I watched our love for one another increase it was such a beautiful moment and I think so often we get so stuck and I gotta be right I have to win this argument and and it's like we're going about it all the wrong way it's the wrong way to be right and and God in his loving kindness is like no my righteousness is always what goes before you it's not your righteousness it's mine and you know the whole the whole point is to bear fruit that's right right so the fruit of the spirit is love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faithfulness weakness and Temperance those are all what we need those are growing in Grace God takes us from glory to glory to glory to bear fruit and what if what if we didn't know we had fruit unless it's called upon that's right so in those moments of obedience or in those moments of Disconnect yeah or those moments of struggle those moments of fear what what am I supposed to be bearing right now why does this feel like a growing pain it's to bear fruit to Bear more love to Bear more kindness more long suffering more patience more goodness not to be right all the time so often when pride is driving and directing my life it's it's me taking the steering wheel and when I choose to humble myself and to really walk in the ways of humility it's it's really moving aside uh and and trusting and knowing God has always had the wheel um he's always been driving he's always been directing and it's trusting that his ways are higher than my ways his thoughts are higher than my thoughts I I don't know the the movement of God there are Parts about God that are so mysterious and learning to make peace and trusting in that mystery is is one of the most beautiful ways that we can actually practice humility [Music] and we're not supposed to judge the scripture says don't judge we know that but you know the scripture also says Lori that you'll know them by them by their fruit so sometimes I've had some friends that um they really are committed to being right and often I've even thought you know if I just kind of turn the sound off and just look at their exterior while they're telling their story right there all right right you know only God looks on the heart people see us from the outside so while I'm delivering my point and I'm being right again I'm looking right I'm the only one you know we judge other people by what they do but we judge ourselves by our motives well people don't know what my mission is all they know is how I come across how right I need to be so the question becomes do I want to be right or do I want to have relationship because only relationship can bring influence so if I'm really committed to the big idea which is God's law God's idea then I can trust him that I may not be the only messenger somebody else could be showing up who's also right but maybe can deliver the story in another way and so for me I've learned that if I can just back up work a little bit more on my fruit smile hug kiss and say hey you know what here's an idea could I read something to you and let it go the world of the generous like we're saying gets larger and my world expands in my relationship without me having to be the one who is right and I love that you brought that verse up because I think the second part of that verse says you know the world of the generous gets larger and larger and the world of the stingy stingy yet smaller and smaller and when we're in relationship with others and we constantly have to be right people really don't want to be in relationship with us anymore right our relational worlds start to shrink because we're known by oh she's the one that always has to be right like she's the one that always has to make her point she's the one that has to have her last word the thing that I used to think about and still try to remind myself of is do I want to be right or do I want reconciliation because when I enter into conflict especially with my husband because that happens on a regular basis when you live with someone and I think do I want to be right or do I want reconciliation I approach the conversation completely differently depending on my answer to that question if I want to be right I'm going to dig my heels in make my case use all the words and tell him why I'm right but if I want reconciliation I'm probably just going to listen more I'm going to ask questions I'm going to change my entire posture toward him and how we have that conversation so I love what Robin said she said do you want to be right or do you want the relationship another way to say it is do you want to be right or do you want reconciliation especially in terms of conflict and so when you begin to ask yourself that question and practice asking it to yourself every time you feel yourself climbing on your high horse it'll get a little easier to climb back off listen and maintain the relationship instead of being right I love that we're talking about fruit because gosh when I've let fruit go too long in my kitchen and it is no longer it's no longer you know good it's noticeable yeah like yes you know that's great I've left out fruit that is like when you see a banana that you're like oh this is even past banana bread right like this can't even become something good and it's noticeable that's right it's rotten and I think people can see that in our lives they can sniff it in our lives but when there's good fruit oh you're so drawn to it yeah you know like fresh good fruit you're like I want that yeah I want more of that and I want that to be the case in my relationships I want people to not know me as somebody that always has to be right yeah I want somebody to know me as and they do know yeah see that's the creepy part you know we think we're hiding behind us yeah they do know yeah yeah we're not hiding from anyone first of all not God but we're also not hiding from people that were in relationship with and I do think that we want to just stop a moment and say that all of this idea of being right or not right it all comes down to God's word absolutely that we have to go back to what the book says absolutely that's why I love how you talked about um Pride because that's definitely it for me like I don't try to be right I just think I am right that's right I'm not trying to act to your people like we all we all really think that we're not trying to put on a front we really think it and so that is that pride and so I think you know you use the example of the spec and the plank Robin and I think that that one scripture back to God's word that one scripture can help take you from this place of Pride to a place of humility so I've I've my husband and I in our marriage were total opposites like a lot of people and you know he'll do something that I'm frustrated by just like I do with him all the time and let's say that this I started this a couple years ago and it has helped me get off my high horse which I just have a tendency to get on like oh I'm so frustrated I cannot believe he forgot to go run that air I mean like he remembers 100 things a day at work yeah he can't remember one thing I can't remember one thing like you know you're just yes the enemy's like yeah yeah you're so right I'm like I am this one question because I am that's right this one question has helped me get off my high horse and invite humility in and I don't always do it but it is my it's almost my checks and balances for myself to not you know be this prideful person the question is this have you ever done that yeah have you ever done that Christy have you ever forgotten something he has to do oh all but yeah I actually forget things all the time he he's much better remembering than me or fill in the blank with whatever the situation is that I am frustrated by I stopped myself from my and I go have you ever done that and y'all it's just when you're faced with a plank in your own eye okay just settle right on down because I'm like no no problem I'll take it next time because I know that tomorrow I'm gonna forget 15 things that he will have unbelievable Grace for me because he is very patient lots of long-suffering from that right right but I think that when we get to this place of Pride and we get on our high horse and we surround ourselves with the people like yeah yeah we got the voice of the enemy going you're so right he's so wrong it just it it is it turns into really bad fruit and none of us want that none of us set out say like oh I really want lots of conflict in my marriage and I want to you know turn off everyone around me but we do it incrementally a little bit at a time when we just convince ourselves of how right we are and how everyone else has all the planks and we've just got this tiny little speck but if we could flip it and bring humility in it changes your whole perspective which we need on a daily basis I think when we have that plank in our eyes like we're just we're thinking of ourselves more highly than we ought and when it comes to humility I'm the only person who can humble me if somebody else tries to Humble me that's called humiliation if I do it myself that's called humility God's not going to work humility for me I have to surrender that myself and so when I decide to say I'm gonna go low and not I'm not seeing myself less than I'm seeing myself in the right light the Bible tells us to look at ourselves in the right light and balance with balance scales when I do that then I'm able to see my neighbor in the right way because my filter has changed my filter is not just big I little you my filter is Big him little I big you and then I can help you and with the proper assessment so I think again we are all called to go low and it's not a one-time thing it's not hey I humbled myself last year I humbled myself yesterday every single day like you said give us this day our daily bread a part of that Daily Bread is gone and go low today so nobody has to push you down if I humble myself I don't have to worry about being humiliated I'm already down there and then I can wait for God to lift me up like he promised he would do and I love that you bring it back to a question of yourself right like you said what how am I contribute yes exactly and I think the idea of of the spec and the log going back to how we opened even uh if any of you lacks Wisdom ask for it amen and I think that's just such a great question that Jesus taught us right is there a big old plank in my eye Lord right like do we pause and ask ourselves the question or am I so fixated on the little speck over in them and so God would you reveal to me what's the plank would you just reveal it to me usually I don't even need to get to the end of it right it's usually like oh yeah there it is yep I see it it's just a big old log coming right out of my eye right and and I think it's that pausing and it's that breathing um I know for me I have to just give some space before I speak I often feel like when I ask that question God's like would you just be quiet for a minute would you just be still before you have to fill this with words and it's usually when I reflect and then I pause and I you know I I listen to what's really going on in me I'm like oh I see now that's wisdom yeah there's a log there's a log yeah yeah that's something I've I've been working on and I'm still working on it probably will be till I die but is although I'm a fast talker from Cincinnati but I try to be a slow responder Explore More of the stories and inspiring content you love from Better Together on our YouTube channel Better Together TV subscribe today and never miss a new upload but I was thinking of something earlier that you had said though too Rob and when you were talking about um trying to be right all the time and people don't want to hear you you know I think if we come in the right Spirit you know you've heard people who have said the wrong thing with the right spirit and it's more receivable than sometimes people who say the right thing with the wrong Spirit you know you're like no you came at me wrong I can't even hear what you're trying to tell me because your attitude was wrong your tone was wrong your face was wrong you're you were just wrong you know what I'm saying we know First Corinthians talk about that I can have the tongues of men and angels and I don't have love it's just noisy it's not it's nothing you know yeah um but I think part of our aim is to Lord help me to say the right things with the right spirit and then leave it and then receive somebody else's opinion on the matter someone else take on the matter to know that there is let me exhibit the Fruit of the Spirit and not just wag a flag over what I may think is a gift whether it's the Gift of Gab or the gift of this or whatever else it says but I think that's something that we should work on all of a sudden that's something that I am working on myself because I've been guilty of all the above but I did want to read something and you know I'm we're all word babies and I'm trying I know this isn't a Bible study I know but I really want to read this because I believe that in Proverbs chapter 8 I love the fact that Solomon he personified wisdom as a female so we or she she is you know we love that yes so I love it but I think that she just Nails it I think he Nails it and the things that she says about herself yeah are the attributes we want it's the wisdom that we need is the clarity that we need is the direction it's the power it's the whole thing and I think you know I just wanted to you know I'm trying you know read it and it says in Proverbs chapter 8 verse 1 it says does not wisdom call out does not understanding raise her voice at the highest point along the way where the paths meet she takes her stand beside the gate leading into the city at the entrance she cries aloud to your people I crawl out I raise my voice to all mankind you who are simple gain proof students you who are foolish set your hearts on it listen I have trustworthy things to say I open my lips to speak what is right my mouth speaks what is true for my lips detest wickedness all the words of my mouth are just none of them is crooked or perverse to the Discerning all of them are right they are upright to those who have found knowledge choose my instruction instead of silver knowledge rather than Choice gold for wisdom is more precious than rubies and nothing you desire can compare with her I wisdom dwell together with Prudence I possess knowledge and discretion to fear the lord is to hate evil I hate pride and arrogance evil behavior and perverse speech counsel and sound judgment are mine I have Insight I have power by me King's Reign and rulers issue decrees that are just by me princes govern and Nobles all who rule on the Earth I love those who love me and those who seek me find me with me are riches in honor enduring wealth and prosperity my fruit is better than fine gold what I yield surpasses Choice silver I walk in the way of righteousness along the paths of Justice restoring a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full the Lord brought me forth as the first of his Works before his deeds of old I was formed long ago at the very beginning when the world came to be when there were no watery depths I was given birth when there were no strings overflowing with water before the mountains were settled in place before the hills I was given birth before he made the world or its fields or any of the Dust of the Earth I was there when he set the heavens in place when he marked out the Horizon on the face of the deep when he established the clouds above and fixed securely The Fountains of the deep when he gave the sea its boundary so the waters would not overstep his command that's where I got who taught the sun where to stand in the morning who told the ocean you can only come this far right here anyway then I was constantly at his side I was filled with delight day after day rejoicing always in his presence rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind now then my children listen to me blessed are those who keep my ways listen to my instruction and be wise do not disregard it blessed are those who listen to me watching daily at my doors waiting at my doorway for those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord but those who fail to find me harm themselves all who hate me love death proverbs 8. now she's telling about herself she's like you want to know me this is who I am she's like we were saying how we recognize don't arrogance and pride in ourselves wisdom's saying no that's not me wisdom says humble yourself like you said go to your husband go to your spouse go to your friend and say I'm not always right I mean this is how I see it now I want to see how you see it you know wisdom chooses those paths because wisdom has power wisdom has you know glory in what she brings as well but wisdom knows how to Humble herself yeah and so because she does we do you know the Bible simply says that we just need to ask for wisdom you know God isn't just um hanging us out to dry to try to figure that out on our own he says ask of me and I'll give it to you and I'm not going to beat you down for it I'm going to give it to you generously I'm going to give you wisdom when you ask for it so that's a simple step when you need to hear from God when you when you need to know what to do that's a simple ask and then it's simple for God to answer you yeah and I think of that passage how God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble exalts yeah the humble and it's a hard I think some of the hardest but best moments in my life have been owning my pride yeah have been the moments where I've just uh really been honest with myself with others with God and I've had those humbling moments of just going I was wrong same here I made a mistake on that one can I have a do-over yeah the way I said that wasn't what I really meant will you forgive me and uh gosh God softens my heart in those moments right I think about moments with my husband or with my kids or or people in our church right where I've just humbled myself um and aren't we drawn to people that do that it's like when I see somebody really honest authentic sincere I'm like oh I want to know you more right because I I don't want to to just see the shiny prideful put together self I want to know the real you the vulnerable real you and and I feel like our real selves connect to others real selves right and that's right I know God God has used every one of those moments where my pride got plucked right and it was like okay are you willing to humble yourself Genie and own it and it's interesting I I don't know if I've ever thought about this before but I feel like those are the moments where God matures me you know it's like he's developing fruit when I pay attention to that Pride yeah humble myself and say no I I choose wisdom more than my own arrogance and pride no I was just thinking as a as a little girl when I got disciplined that was wisdom that was yeah humbling but where I grew that's right you know and normally it's through a lot of disciplining that we grow on the way here I was um thinking about something that you know like I've never I don't think I've ever told the story publicly I remember the only time I can remember ever really talking back to my dad you know that was just you know my dad went to see Jesus in 2016. that's just the finest man I ever knew honestly when I was a kid I wanted to marry my dad but anyway I was about 16 years old and um I was being a bratty teenager and um I can't remember what it was over but I remember saying something really Grievous to my dad and just like because we didn't talk back you just don't do that like I can't even imagine even as a grown-up and my dad was so upset with me he was about to come for me and I remember my mom holding him back saying no Napoleon no Napoleon but I was just like just mouthing off mouthing off mom's like go to your room go to your room and um after that moment there really it was it was nothing it was I was being bratty honestly and we all calmed down and I remember like for the next probably six months or so I was just mad and I was gonna I was gonna talk I talked to him when I had to and I would be cordial but I had this era of I'm still mad at you I'm going to hold this Grudge and I remember every like Thursday that would bring snacks and he would bring him home and he would buy our favorite chips and he would put them on the table for us and for a while I just refused to take my chips I was just like I'm gonna show you I'm still mad and that was still kind he kept being kind to me he kept hey bubs you want to do this hey bubs you know just and the more he was like kind I was just kind of like I'm just gonna set my ways but I was kind enough to where I couldn't get in trouble but he couldn't change my heart he could see my actions but he couldn't you know and after several months I remember I developed a knot in my chest it took me to the pediatrician and took me back a couple of times and it kept growing and I remember I knew what it was and I and they said if you come back again we're going to have to refer you to the surgeon and and I knew it was a root of bitterness and I went to Sister daddy at our church and I talked to her and she's like you got to forgive you got to forgive and the thing I had to forgive really was more me than Dad so I chose to forgive even when there wasn't really an offense that he had it was more me but um I did not act wisely but my dad responded wisely to me and he loved me and he still cared for me and um the rest of my life after that whole episode it was I lived my life in such a way with my dad to not just say I'm sorry because I wasn't trying to do Penance but to let him know that I do respect you like the honor I did not show in that moment I will multiply Honor on this side now you know to whom much is Forgiven we love much and he forgave me in that moment and so you know build your house I'm gonna do whatever again you're my man you're like just and my dad was always my biggest champion he was always like you know he made us offer like his favorite he was always bragging he always blessed me in every stage of my life even when things went South but he was there and I I have no regrets on the things that I responded to in wisdom but the things that I did not respond to in wisdom are the things that I know I'm forgiven for but they're things that are still kind of like ah I wish I could turn the clock back there God's wisdom is both vertical and horizontal so what that means is that as we're in touch with God our awareness I want to be careful and I want to be clear that this Faith walk is exactly that it's a walk it's one day after the other and it's a Growing Experience when we are new in Christ and we're new to the Bible and we're new to listening to God it can sound very confusing but Divine wisdom Comes To Us by us taking time out of our daily schedule and by just quieting ourselves reading his scripture which never changes and then just listening in our heart why I just said it at the beginning that Divine wisdom is vertical it changes me to hear God's voice but it also changes my relationships with others because through that awareness as I pray about my own growth and as I pray about relationships with others or even circumstances in their lives there will come Revelation there will come coincidences or answers to prayer and as those actions are coming things are going to change let me tell you things are going to change for your loved ones things are going to change at your job things are going to change as you hear God's Divine wisdom and so I don't know who's watching and I don't know if people may have felt like hey I've blown it and I have some things that I have not responded in wisdom to and I'm ashamed of and you know I wish I could erase that part of my life but I would compel them and even us to take it and give it to the Lord because he's still gracious and even in our foolishness he's still been good he's still been acting wisely on our behalf and um and so today can be a new day today can be a day of saying God I want to ask you for wisdom yeah I want to receive wisdom and I want to will my will to your will to do what it is that you've actually called them to do and so I want to pray and I know I've said a lot of words but um hopefully the spirit of what I'm trying to say is being conveyed and um and today you know let it be a day that we say God I want what you want for me and I want to respond in faith amen and I want to let go of the doubt in what you've actually called me to do even if I don't understand it completely so father in the name of Jesus sir yes we thank you so much for your goodness lord well we thank you because although we are not right most of the time and how we think we're prideful at times Lord we are disrespectful at times we have our own idea of how things should work out Lord you still love us and you're there for us sir and Lord I ask that today that you would help us Lord even as we confess those things that we know we have done wrong or we might be doing wrong Lord but I pray that you would help us Lord that you would give us the grace that we need Lord to have the faith to believe you for whatever it is that you tell us to do sir and that we would act quickly in obedience Lord we wouldn't have slow obedience which is no obedience but we would have obedience to those things that you have put in front of us Lord and Lord I pray that as we take that first step that we would trust you for the second and the third and the fourth and that we wouldn't go ahead of you assuming that we just know how to get there Lord but that we would trust you in every facet of the journey and so again we thank you Lord thank you for your goodness Your Grace your help thank you for the lessons thank you for being with us even when we get it wrong because you're still a right God and you love us sir and so we thank you for all these things and we trust you thank you for wisdom in Jesus name amen yeah foreign

Channel: Better Together on TBN

Views: 193,714

Keywords: nicole c mullen, nicole c, nicole c mullen my redeemer lives, nicole c mullen songs, nicole c mullen the god who sees, nicole c mullen call on jesus, nicole c mullen on my knees, nicole c mullen one touch, nicole c mullen my redeemer lives lyrics, nicole c mullen albums, nicole c mullen come unto me, nicole c mullen music of my heart, women support women, better together, better together tv, better together tv full episodes, laurie crouch, tbn, BTTVTBN, B2T8, B2E3T8, T8E3R7, L5C2

Id: 6yw5MBGZV6A

Length: 50min 12sec (3012 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 17 2023