The general direction

Nothing reflects so much honor on a workman as a trial of his work and its endurance of it. So it is with God. It honors Him when His saints preserve their integrity. (Charles Spurgeon)

Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others. (Proverbs 12:15)

An honorable workman - can any of us hope to be more than this? We each have a set mission in mind with each new day. We formulate our plans, ask God to take them into his control, blessing them as he does, and we set out. Fools don't ask God's direction, nor do they give him control of their mission. They believe they know the way, even though they have never traveled it before!

The wise preserve their integrity by asking for his wisdom BEFORE they launch out on their day's journey. It would be foolish to just get in the car, knowing the general direction of North Carolina from Arizona is more or less east, then just drive without any knowledge of the direction certain roadways or highways would take us. In much the same way, a fool relies upon the 'general direction' they receive from stories, social media posts, or gossips, determining their course based on nothing more than speculation that they 'know' truth.

The wise stop, consider, ponder over and over again, then still seek God's direction. It may seem to some that the wise take a long time to make some decisions, but it could just be that they aren't willing to rely upon half-truths! They want to hear clearly from God, to know his hand is guiding their steps. The wise listen - something the fool seldom does. The wise seek out truth - something the fool might see as a delay in his mission and therefore unnecessary. 

An honorable workman knows the work ahead and the endurance it will require. He leans into the grace and goodness of God's assistance to walk that journey because he knows he will only preserve his integrity in the journey with God's help. The fool truly cannot see that he needs God's help because he is sure he can handle it all on his own. There is much more wisdom in seeking direction than there is in aiming at 'general directions' all our life. Just sayin!