A poor youth or a foolish king . . . which would you like to be?

Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to heed a warning.
Ecclesiastes 4:13 

When you wake up in the morning, seek the Lord and this is what He shows you right out of the batting cage, you stop and hold your breath.

Is what He showing me where I stand or an encouragement or warning as to where I should not stand?  Am I the poor but wise youth . . . or the old but foolish king?  

The nature of a conversation with the Lord is just that.  I would like to say that I am the poor and wise youth.  I am poor in many ways.  But youth, . . . well that, as I peer through my bifocals, does not describe me. The youth is poor but wise.  The king is old but foolish.  

I do not like to think of myself as foolish.  Who does?  I can give all such of evidence and arguments that I am not that man.  But such may all fall on deaf ears.  See, one of the basic principles of my life that I hold fast to (meaning I believe with all my heart) is that what God says is what is.  So if He calls me foolish . . . well, whether I can sing like the angels or break down scripture like the apostle Paul . . . I am foolish.  

The source of my understanding of a matter must come from Him, His word, His instruction, His leading.  And here, in this passage He makes it plain as to why the king is foolish . . . he "no longer knows how to heed a warning."

So if this is a statement about me, it means I have already tripped up.  If it is a warning, then I still have a chance.  See I need only identify what God is trying to warn me about.  

The awesome thing about God speaking is when you ask Him a question, He answers pretty quickly.  And for me, it happened in "the twinkling of an eye."  I asked, and He reminded me.  If I had had any difficulty, all that I needed to do was to put my current life, my actions, my thoughts, my plans aside His instruction.  

Am I planning to lie to get out of something unpleasant?  Am I looking to be silent when His word, His justice would require me to speak?  Am I looking at something that I should not be?  Am I refusing to do what I know that I am supposed to?  Am I secretly holding on to something against someone that I am supposed to have brought to the Lord and forgiven them for?  Am I pondering something I know I would not like preached from the pulpit?  

You can add any number of questions to your inquiry.  The only requirement for this to work for you, is for you to be honest with Him and yourself.  

See I do not wish to be foolish.  I want to be wise.  I want to stand in the favor of God, in His perfect will for my life.  I want to live life to the fullest!  I want to be ready for all that He has in store for me!  

So . . . I want to be willing to identify and heed the warning of the Lord.  

There is an old saying that "sin takes you further than you wanted to go, keeps you longer than you intended to stay and costs you more than you ever intended to pay."   

I identified where I needed to turn.  I decided and acted, getting in line with His word, His will.  Wisdom . . . well its the city where I wish to live and it is where I decided to stand this morning.  I heeded the warning.

Have you?

Got Word?  Then do it.

Love yah