116 - Transform Your Life with 3 Practical Steps to Godly Wisdom

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So what you want to do with this is you want to take a lot of time, or as much time as you can muster and reflect on your experiences, whatever you've had. Just the best way to do this is at the end of the day, sit down and ask yourself a couple questions. What went well? What didn't go well? What can I improve next time?        

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That's it. Ask yourself those three questions and I guarantee you, in one year you're going to be a totally different person because you will have so much more knowledge because you did that introspective work. Welcome to Motivate Grind Succeed, the podcast where we empower you to level up your life in the four foundational cornerstones of faith, fellowship, fitness and finance. Guys, each episode is packed with practical tips and takeaways to help you thrive. If you guys enjoy the show, please leave us a rating interview as it really means the world to us.        

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Before we get started, guys, if I sound a little bit under the weather, I'm getting over some allergies, so bear with me with this voice. But I had to get to making this episode for you guys because I just love making these episodes for you guys. So bear with the voice for a little bit. I'm recovering. Should be better by tomorrow.        

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In today's episode, we are going to be diving into the significance of wisdom and discernment. Guys, these qualities play a crucial role in our decision making, our relationships, and our overall growth. Here's what we're going to be discussing in this episode. We're going to be discussing what wisdom is, why it holds such importance in our lives, and how we can cultivate more of it in our lives. We're also going to explore the wisdom that's found in the Bible and provide practical tips for incorporating God's wisdom into our daily routines.        

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So with all that being said, let's dive right into this and start off with the first part of this episode. What exactly is wisdom? Right? Wisdom is defined as the ability to discern what is true, what is right, and what is valuable in any given situation. It goes beyond knowledge and it encompasses insight, understanding, and the ability to make sound judgments.        

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In the Bible, wisdom is highly praised and it's highly, highly valued. Specifically, if you look, for example, in the book of Proverbs where it says the beginning of wisdom is this get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight. That's proverbs four right there. So why then is wisdom so important in our lives? Well, I wrote down a couple of reasons because I got to give you guys some good information here.        

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Why is wisdom so important? Wisdom helps us to make better choices and navigate life's challenges with clarity. It guides us to seek understanding, consider different perspectives, and make decisions that align with our values. Wisdom also helps us to avoid impulsive actions. Basically a reaction versus a response.        

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There's a big difference there. So wisdom helps us to avoid those reactions and instead have a response to the stimulus that happens in our lives, and that helps us to choose the paths that lead to overall growth and overall fulfillment. So here's a very important point that I want you guys to realize here. It is crucial to understand this thing right here. Wisdom and discernment is a lifelong journey.        

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It is not a as, quote unquote, get rich quick. It's not a I figure this out, voila. Eureka. I now know this tomorrow. It's not like that.        

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This is a lifelong journey, a lifelong passion, a lifelong endeavor. It does not stop ever. However, there are a few practical steps we can take to start ourselves on this lifelong journey of wisdom and getting discernment. So let's go through a few strategies that we have, and then we're going to dive a little bit deeper into what the Bible says about wisdom. And then I'll end you guys off, of course, 100% fluff free guarantee with the three ways that I have for you to start incorporating Godly wisdom on a practical level.        

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So let's start off with the strategies. Number one strategy to help you cultivate wisdom and discernment is to seek out knowledge. You have to expand your understanding. How do we do that? Simple.        

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You can read books. You can engage in meaningful conversations, and overall, stay curious about the world around you. Think about this as like a childlike excitement, a childlike imagination. When you look at a toddler walking around, right? What do you see this toddler do?        

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They don't just stand there and just take life as it is and say, okay, that's a tree. Walk away. No, they look at everything and they are fascinated by everything. They're trying to understand the ins, outs, ups, downs, and all the cardinal directions of everything it is that's going on in their life right now. Because everything is a new stimulus.        

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Everything is new. They want to understand everything. So because that is what they do and that is how they understand the world around them. Why is it that when we grow older, it now becomes completely different? It shouldn't be that way, right?        

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If we stay curious about the world around us and ask the simple question that is annoying to parents when kids ask you, it's a simple question of why. If you take any philosophy class, that's one of the most important questions that they ask you, is why? When you're in school, and someone gives you an example and says, okay, explain it. Talk about your answer, why you think this, this way, this way, and then explain why. Why is always important because it gives the insight, it gives the background.        

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It gives you more knowledge into what someone's thinking or into some background on some history or something. It always allows you to get some more insight, and that sparks that curiosity, right? Let's put it this way. The Greek philosopher Socrates once said, and I've said this in the episode before, but it's such a good quote, I had to bring it back again. Socrates himself said, I know I am intelligent because I know I know nothing.        

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Let me say that one more time for the people in the back. I know I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing. This humility that Socrates had and this thirst for knowledge that he had are vital for him gaining his wisdom. In the same way, nowadays, if we have that humility of knowing that we know nothing, and yet we thirst for the knowledge because we know that we know nothing and we want to know more, that allows us to gain that wisdom. Number two reflect and meditate.        

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This means you want to be able to create space for introspection and contemplation. Personally, this is a big one for me, especially because I am a lot more on the keep to myself side of things. I do a lot of introspective work and a lot of self contemplation. I like to think a lot of things through in my head. So what you want to do with this is you want to take a lot of time, or as much time as you can muster and reflect on your experiences, whatever you've had.        

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The best way to do this is, at the end of the day, sit down and ask yourself a couple of questions. What went well? What didn't go well? What can I improve next time? That's it.        

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Ask yourself those three questions, and I guarantee you in one year you're going to be a totally different person because you'll have so much more knowledge. Because you did that introspective work, you allowed yourself to expand into that creative space and then allow yourself to say, okay, here's what I'm good at. Since I'm good at this, I will keep doing this. If I'm bad at this, let me find something that can potentially fix or help me to improve on this bad spot. Or if something didn't go well, okay, even better.        

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If I thought I did something well, that means it's time for a readjustment. It's time to look at something from a different angle, a different perspective. That's that introspective work kicking in. Even the Bible encourages us to meditate day and night. Specifically, Joshua one eight, it says, Study this book of instruction relating to the Bible, continually meditate on it day and night, so you will be sure to obey everything written in it.        

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Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. What is the Bible, basically? Well, one time I heard somebody say the Bible is an acronym for Biblical Instructions before leaving Earth. That's also why it says again in the New Living Translation, study this book of instruction continually. It's a book of instruction.        

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It is instructions of what we need to do in this life before leaving Earth. Meditate on it day and night. That means read it, think about it, ponder with it, wrestle with it, if need be, so that way you can understand exactly what's going on in this book. Lastly, seek wise counsel. Point number three of how to help us nurture some wisdom and discernment in our lives.        

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Seek wise counsel. You want to surround yourself with wise individuals who can provide guidance and offer different perspectives on what it is that you're thinking about. So, case in point. You ever heard the quote, you are the average of the five people that you spend the most amount of time with. Guess what?        

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Proverbs 1320 states, whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm. I mean, it kind of speaks for itself, right? So let's take a little bit of a deeper dive then into what the Bible says about the value of wisdom, right? So I got a couple verses for you that we're going to reference. So first one in the book of James, James one five.        

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Specifically, it says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given to him. This verse reminds us that wisdom is a gift from God and that we can seek his guidance through prayer and through meditation. I'm going to leave that one alone because we talked about that before on point number two, when we talked about reflect and meditate with Joshua one and eight, when we talked about meditating on it day and night. So we're going to leave that one alone. We're not going to beat a dead horse here.        

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The Bible is also very, very rich with stories to highlight the power of wisdom. One example we see is King Solomon. He was known for his exceptional wisdom. Specifically, in one Kings three nine, solomon asked God for an understanding heart to discern between good and evil. In his request please the Lord specifically.        

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Let's read those verses, verse nine and verse ten. Give me an understanding heart so that I can govern your people well and know the difference between right and wrong, for who by himself is able to govern this great people of yours. Verse ten. The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for wisdom. It just goes to show that wisdom is also something that we can ask for.        

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It is also a gift that can be given to us because we have also been given the Spirit in the gift of wisdom and discernment to help us tell right from wrong. So asking for wisdom as you see Solomon, if you know the story of Solomon, he was one of the richest, the wealth, well worldiest and richest, but he was the he was the wealthiest man. He was the man who was just the wisest man in all of times and he even asked for wisdom. So don't be afraid to ask for some wisdom guys. Additionally, Jesus uses parables and these are filled with wisdom as well because they convey profound truths about the life in the kingdom of God.        

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One of my favorite ones is the one that talks about the wise and the foolish builders in Matthew seven, right? It emphasizes the importance of building our lives on a solid foundation of God's wisdom. So let me read those verses for you. Matthew seven, verses 24 and 27 anyone who listens to my teachings and follows it is what wise. Like a person who builds a house on solid rock.        

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When the rain comes in torrents and the flood waters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won't collapse because it is built on bedrock. But anyone who hears my teachings and does not obey it is what foolish. Like a person who builds a house on sand. When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash. So wisdom, building your house on that solid rock, foolishness building your house on sand.        

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Had the person in this parable asked God for wisdom, they would have known hey, build your structure on some rock. Build it on something solid. That way it will stand when the rains and everything comes. When you do whatever actions you need to do or take whatever actions you need to take. Everything that you do is built on a solid foundation.        

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Everything that you do is based on Godly wisdom. And when you're built on the wisdom, it pleases the Lord. See, all this works together. All this works together so, so beautifully. So in closing guys, I need to give you all your fluff free guarantee promise.        

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And that is three different ways we can start to incorporate God's wisdom into our lives. On a practical level. Instead of keeping it all 3000 foot view, let's bring it down to our level. What can you do once you finish listening to this episode? Number one study the scriptures.        

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Dive into the Bible, explore the wisdom it offers. If you don't know where to start, just pick up the app or pick up the little booklets. If you still see them laying around somewhere in your daily lives, the hour, Daily Bread preferably, just get the apps and you're probably already on your phone listening to this episode. Just pick up your phone, go to the App store, go to the Play store, whatever platform you're on, download the app. Our Daily Bread or the Bible app specifically and just start reading something.        

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Start reading the devotional in our daily bread and then read the scripture that comes alongside of it. Or open up the Bible app and then find one of the reading plans and just start there, right? Start somewhere, study somewhere. I don't care where you start. Just start number two.        

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It's going to be kind of beating a dead horse on this one. But number two is to pray for wisdom, right? As James mentioned earlier, we can ask God for wisdom, knowing that he is generous in giving it to us. Take the time to pray, seek his guidance in all the aspects of life. And finally, guys, number three, make sure you practice some discernment.        

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Develop the habit of discerning between right and wrong. We already have that capability to a baseline level. But the more you evolve and the more you get deeper into your spiritual understanding of everything, the better you're able to pick up on the right and wrong, the difference between the good and evil and the better, between the truth and falsehood. This also comes with you just reading and understanding things more and being able to pick up on things quicker. Allow God's wisdom to guide your choices and guide your actions, and you'll be able to tell the difference a lot, lot quicker.        

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And guys, that's it for this week's episode. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Motivate Grind Succeed, the podcast, and I hope you got something valuable from this episode. Guys, if you enjoyed this episode, leave us a rating and review as it really does mean a lot to us. Join our email list for exclusive access to new episodes, merch Drops, upcoming events, and so much more, guys. Also, if you want to support the show, remember sign up for that fourth wall waitlist and be the first to know when that website launches and receive a special discount just for you on that store.        

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And finally, guys, if there's anything that you missed, check out the links down below this episode subscription. Take care and I will see you all next time.