You’ve heard the story about how to boil a frog … if you try to put a frog into boiling water, it will immediately jump out because it realizes that the water is too hot for it. However, if you put a frog in lukewarm water and gradually raise the temperature, by the time the frog realizes the water is too hot it’s too late.

We can find ourselves in hot water just like that frog. We don’t mind saying, doing or even thinking certain things because it seems nice and warm and it doesn’t seem as though there could be anything wrong with them. Slowly, the temperature rises as conditions change, but we barely recognize it.

No one likes to admit their own sin. It’s uncomfortable and can even be humiliating. To talk about “sin”, “confession”, “forgiveness”, and “obedience to God” … well, that just sounds old fashioned and so Old Testament. However, wisdom is also being reflective about one’s life, realizing that the water is getting warmer and things are changing in an unhealthy and in a non-life giving way.

God gives us the Holy Spirit to help us notice and tell the truth about being in warmer and warmer water. He doesn’t laugh at us, shame us, or condemn us for all eternity to the fires of hell when we sin. We saw through the story of King David and the prophet, Nathan, (The Story – chapter 12), that God is ready and eager to forgive us because forgiveness helps us get back on track in our relationship with God.

Prayer

As you pray this week…

• Ask God to help you grow in His wisdom more and more with each passing day.
• Invite the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to any kettles of slow-boiling water that you might be in right now. Pray for strength to hop out today!
• Thank God for the wise people He has placed in your life and ask Him to help you become someone who can offer wisdom to the next generation.

Personal Reflections

Near the end of his life, Solomon was inspired by God to write a collection of reflections, the book of Ecclesiastics, on what he learned along the way. Read Ecclesiastes and reflect on how easy it is to focus on the wrong stuff. Ask God to help you identify what matters most to Him and what should be most important to you.

Personal Action

Give a charge (some words of wisdom) to a young person in your life. Prayerfully identify one or two people that God might want to encourage through your words, meet with them, and share what God places on your heart.

The book of Proverbs is thirty-one chapters long. Consider making a commitment to read one chapter of it each day for the coming month. It will take just a few minutes per day. As you read this amazing book, you will grow in wisdom.

References

Sermon @ 11:00am The Story | The King Who Had It All

Scriptures

• From worship: 2 Chronicles 1:1-3, 6-12 & Matthew 6:19-24
• Chapter 13 in The Story covers the following: Psalms 23, 32, 51; 1 Kings 1-8, 10-11; 2 Chronicles 5-7; Proverbs 1-3, 6, 20-21