What’s the worst travel experience you’ve ever had?
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I had been on one in particular for quite some time.
The errors in judgement. Poor or no character. Being judgemental. Choosing to let ego and pride assume control. The ongoing reliance on others to provide my sense of value and worth. My decision treat the pain, isolation and loss in unhealthy manners. Turning away from He who forgave me all of it faster than I could say “Bob’s your uncle.”
All of which led me here.
And as Mr. Frost so eloquently posited it, “…the best way out is always through.”
Not the end in this case per se.
But rather, retracing my missteps back out of this dismal route and finding new way; by carving my best life path through metanoia. Undergoing a profound and fundamental transformation of my body, heart, mind and most importantly, soul.
In one word, repentance.
It all remains a work in progress. This is definitely the long game.
You see where those flowers end this side of the sign? That is about where I am these days. On my way to find their siblings.
And when they ask us to tell of our best travel experience, down the road some day, I will share some of what I have found on the way out and back into living and life.
No longer dead and at my end.
*THE MINISTRY OF WISDOM – WISDOM TO STAY AHEAD*
_Topic: WISDOM TO BE AHEAD EVEN WHEN MEN DON’T LIKE YOU_
_Proverbs 4:8 says, Exalt wisdom, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her._
_Genesis 39:2 says, And the LORD was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man._
Hear me, child of God. There is a kind of wisdom that does not make you struggle to be ahead it makes you _stay_ ahead naturally.
Many people are praying to be like you, but they will never tell you. Many people don’t like you, not because you offended them, but because your light exposes their darkness. Your results disturb their excuses.
So how do you stay ahead when men plan to bring you down?
*1. WISDOM MAKES YOU AHEAD BY BECOMING, NOT BY COMPETING.*
Stop competing. The race is not to the one who runs fastest, but to the one God lifts. When you grow in wisdom, in skill, in character, you automatically go ahead. People who compete look sideways. People who become look upward. Become so valuable that even your enemies cannot ignore your value. _Daniel 6:3 says, Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him._
*2. WISDOM MAKES YOU LOVED EVEN BY THOSE WHO DON’T LIKE YOU.*
You don’t need everybody to like you to be ahead. But you need wisdom to disarm their dislike. Don’t repay hatred with hatred. Greet them. Smile genuinely. Help them when they are stuck. When you show love to those who don’t like you, you confuse their plan. Their evil cannot stick on you. _Proverbs 16:7 says, When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him._ Your love is not weakness, it is warfare.
*3. WISDOM MAKES YOU STAND OUT WITHOUT MAKING NOISE.*
You don’t need to shout that you are ahead. Wisdom makes your work speak for you. Be punctual when others are late. Be excellent when others are average. Be faithful when others are eye-service. In that office, in that market, in that department, let your results be your announcement. _Matthew 5:16 says, Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works._ The oil on your head will always announce you, even in silence.
*4. WISDOM TEACHES YOU TO WALK AWAY FROM FIGHTS YOU HAVE ALREADY WON.*
Not every attack deserves your reply. Some people plan to bring you down just to drag you into a fight and reduce you to their level. A wise man does not wrestle in the mud. He keeps climbing. When they gossip, keep working. When they plot, keep growing. Your silence in wisdom is louder than their noise in foolishness. _Proverbs 20:3 says, It is an honour for a man to cease from strife._
*5. WISDOM KEEPS YOUR HEART CLEAN EVEN WHEN THEIR HANDS ARE DIRTY.*
This is the secret: The reason you will remain ahead is not because you are smarter, but because your heart remains clean. Don’t join them to do evil. Don’t join them to lie, to steal, to manipulate to stay ahead. The moment you join them, you lose the backing of God. Keep your hands clean, keep your heart pure. God never sponsors a man to stay ahead with a dirty heart. _Psalm 24:3-4 says, Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart._
*6. WISDOM MAKES YOU A REFERENCE, NOT JUST A SUCCESS.*
God did not make you ahead just to be rich, or just to be promoted. He made you ahead so that others can have hope. There are people looking up to you, praying, “God, make me like him.” Don’t disappoint them. Live in a way that inspires. Dress well. Speak with grace. Help others rise. When you become a reference point, God sustains your aheadness because you are now useful to His purpose. _1 Timothy 4:12 says, Be thou an example…_
*7. WISDOM COVERS YOUR HEAD WHEN ENEMIES PLAN YOUR FALL.*
Hear me, they may plan, they may gather, they may try to pull the chair from under you, but if wisdom is your covering, you will still be ahead of them. Why? Because God Himself is your lifter. No man can bring down whom God has lifted. Their plan will expire, but your oil will remain. _Isaiah 54:15 says, Behold, they shall surely gather together, but not by me: whosoever shall gather together against thee shall fall for thy sake._
*FINAL WORD FOR YOU:*
Don’t beg to be liked. Don’t beg to be ahead. Walk in wisdom, walk in love, walk in excellence, and you will see — even those who don’t like you will come to respect what God is doing in your life.
You will not go down. You will go ahead. You will stand out. And your life will inspire many.
*PRAYER FOR YOU:*
Father, in the name of Jesus, I release wisdom upon this life. Wisdom that makes him stay ahead without struggle. Let his light shine even where men hate him. Let his love disarm every enemy. Let his work announce him. And let his life become an inspiration that brings men to You. Anyone planning to bring him down, let them fall for his sake. He will remain ahead, in Jesus mighty name, Amen.
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