[SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: My new book of devotionals is out NOW! It’s called “Turbulence: Devotionals to Steady You Through The Storms of Life.” More info is at the bottom of today’s devotional.]

Yesterday I said that when you gorge on information, you’re too full for wisdom.

But what does it mean to be wise, anyway?

Fear not. We don’t have to guess. Jesus tells us.

Toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says this: “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock” (Matthew 7:24-25).

Around the Sea of Galilee the soil was very hard. When there was a downpour of rain, the water wouldn’t get absorbed into the soil right away. There could be flash floods which were so powerful that they could knock down poorly constructed houses. Wise and experienced builders knew, therefore, that they had to dig down a few feet below the hard soil and build on top of the bedrock.

That’s what wise people do. They hear Jesus’ words and put them into practice.

-There may be a pandemic, and you know how to act wisely.
-There may be injustice, and you know how to act wisely.
-There may be illness, and you know how to act wisely.
-There may be controversy, and you know how to act wisely.
-There may be stress, and you know how to act wisely.
-There may be confusion in our society, and you know how to act wisely.

Learn Jesus’ words and put them into practice.

“The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.”

By Matthew Ruttan

NEW BOOK: I’m happy to announce my new book Turbulence! It’s out NOW and is available through Amazon (paperback or Kindle), Apple Books, and Kobo. Assembled in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, it includes 150 devotionals to steady you through the storms of life. Click here for the web page with background, purchase info, and endorsements.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.