Discern your steps

"A naive person believes everything, but the shrewd person discerns his steps." Proverbs 14:15 NET

Like thousands of other runners around the world who have had their marathons canceled due to COVID this year, Jodey Hopcroft, 38, set out at 4:45 a.m. on October 4 to complete the virtual London Marathon. She had already run the London Marathon four times, but chose to walk it this time as she had not trained. And while walking 26.2 miles would definitely take a long time, it took Jodey 15 hours! Get this though, she actually completed 49 miles; but because of a bad GPS signal, the app that was tracking her run didn't properly record her mileage. So rather than going down as a DNF (Did Not Finish), Jodey stuck it out and later said, “Once I had started I could not stop. Everything would have been void and I would not have been registered as finishing. I had to keep going until the app registered I had done 26.2 miles. The app did recommend people used a secondary device, but I only downloaded it a few days before and I didn’t have anything else to take with me, so I was a bit naive." 

And you know, while being naive can be defined as a person who lacks experience (in this case to know that apps don't always work as they should) and expects things to be easy, it can also be defined as someone who expects people to be honest or kind. The Bible goes on to define a naive person as a “person believes everything," but then tells us that the "shrewd person, discerns his steps." Which means, as Christians, you and I can NOT be naive. We can’t expect things to be easy nor can we believe everything we read or hear or trust everyone who claims to speak truth (that includes pastors, friends, family, teachers and politicians). Instead we must use the knowledge obtained through Scripture (that means we must read and study it) to recognize, judge and understand what's truly right and wrong for ourselves. 

So in a world where everyone seems to have an opinion on what is right and wrong, be very discerning my friend... very discerning. Weigh everything you hear against the absolute truths found only in the Bible because it's only then that your steps will lead you in the right direction. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for the timely reminder that being naive is something a Christian cannot be. Help us to understand the importance of knowing the Word that we might not be led astray by false teachers, false doctrine or anything or anybody that would cause us to compromise or go against the Truth. It's in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!!!

Your Words - Third Day