Do Not Despise Instruction

Scripture Reading: 1 Thessalonians 5:12-24

Today's Treasure: "Do not spurn the gifts and utterances of the prophets - do not depreciate prophetic revelations nor despise inspired instruction or exhortation or warning" (1 Thessalonians 5:20). (AMP)

I hate regrets, don't you? I hate looking back at some mistakes I have made and remembering warnings I chose to ignore. I'm not alone. One of the most common claims of people who have been seduced by Satan into a bed of sin is that they failed to heed an early warning.

Seduced-proofed people are those who do not despise the instructions, exhortations, or warnings of those whom God sends their way. Keep in mind that they may not come face-to-face. They may come from a sermon, a Christian radio broadcast, or a Christian book that God has purposely placed in our hands. They may also come from a source less agreeable to our palates.

Don't go acting as if you have no idea what I mean. Don't you just hate when someone you don't even particularly like is right? Not only do I pick the advice I want; I like to pick out who gives it to me! God doesn't always send our favorite messengers with His well-pointed exhortations. We have to listen anyway. We need to be desperate for good advisers, and we also need to be desperate for the humility to receive instruction.

Sometimes we may receive a warning or an exhortation from a godly source that leads us to forego what seemed like a wonderful opportunity. Later we may find ourselves troubled by resentful feelings, wondering if we should have gone against the counsel. Of course, we are always wise to pray diligently through these kinds of conflict to make absolutely sure any human counsel lines up with God's counsel. If we believe it does - even when we don't want it to - we must rest in it and try to avoid second-guessing it. We may have no idea until heaven the calamity we avoided.

If the counsel of the wise seems to match the sense you're getting from the Holy Spirit after much prayer, go with their advice no matter how badly your flesh wants to do otherwise!

Father, you are so good to send warnings when I am close to danger. Thank you for being my Guide and Protector. Please put a teachable, humble heart within me and help me to receive warnings that are hard to hear. Amen.

Adapted from When Godly People Do Ungodly Things, by Beth Moore, pages 113-114. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002. Used by permission.