Three Words that Will Change Your Life

Wisdom day 1

“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.”   James 1:5-8.

“Take your time. Think it through. Find the will of God.” -Life motto of Henry Parsons Crowell, founder of Quaker Oats

Three Words that Will Change Your Life

The older I get, the more I see that there is a shortage of Christians who keep the faith and finish well. Some Christians become bitter and sour as they age. They seem to have lost their faith and joy in the Lord. I want to grow old loving God and trusting Him until my very last breath.

My husband’s great-uncle, John Bass, is a wonderful man of God who was the former CEO of the Christian Booksellers Association. After stepping down from this position, he spent a very large chunk of his later years with The Crowell Trust, a foundation that supports missionary work started by the Quaker Oats Company.

A little while ago, Uncle John fell and broke his hip. My husband and I went to see him in the hospital, and I noticed how frail and weak his 89-year-old body looked. Even though he was in pain, he was still his usual self, though, and in cheerful spirits. He was singing the Lord’s praises, how great God is to him, and how well He has taken care of him. I absolutely love John’s sweet faith in God and constant TRUST in His care.

Several years ago when John lost his precious bride, Betty, to pancreatic cancer, I was concerned for him and said, “Oh John, I am so very sorry. I am so sad, and my heart hurts for you.” Uncle John’s response to me showed his beautiful, sweet trust in his Jesus:

“But Deb, I have the Lord!” 

What a beautiful, faith-filled statement. Yes, John has the Lord, and I admire his beautiful heart and amazing faith.

His faith-filled life truly has been incredible and impacting to many, many leaders in the Christian arena. John spent most of his life traveling around the world, meeting and encouraging people to stay in faith and to lead their people well. Even in his old age, many of them still seek to meet with John regularly even at his retirement home. They fly and drive in from all over the world just to see John and listen to his wisdom and advice for their ministries.

Once, I asked him what has been the biggest contributor to his amazing life in the Lord. He said:

“For the last 30 years, I have prayed and asked God for three things daily: wisdom, knowledge, and compassion.”

I started praying and asking God for these three things about ten years ago, and it has made a huge difference in my life! I know my life and family have benefited from me asking God daily for His wisdom, knowledge, and compassion. There have been many situations in my life where the wisdom I possessed could only have come from God. God has been so faithful to answer this prayer, and my life is a testimony to His generosity in how He has answered!

How about you? Are you ready to be blessed and walk in wisdom? Start today with this prayer: “Most gracious Heavenly Father, I ask you today for your wisdom, knowledge, and compassion. Help me to live wisely and to obey your Word. I love you, God! In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Questions to Ponder

  • Who are the people you consider wise in your life?
  • How is their wisdom lived out in words?  -In actions? -In attitudes?

 Faith-Filled Idea

  • Today, write these three words wisdom, knowledge and compassion on three sticky notes and place one at your kitchen sink, one on your bathroom mirror and one in your car.
  • Let them serve as reminders for you to pray and ask God for wisdom, knowledge, and compassion every day.

 

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Join the Community! Answer today’s question in the comment box so we can all get to know one another! We at the HCFM are praying for our online community to build relationships, even if they are across the country or the world! 🙂

  • What is the wisest piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

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Deb Weakly

19 Comments on “Three Words that Will Change Your Life”

  1. What a great study and thank you for sharing such wise words with us from your Uncle John! I think some of the best advice I’ve been given is to not try and do things with my own strength, but rely on the Lord to give you everything you need. Hard to do in a lot of scenarios, but I’ve found the more I do this the more abundantly the Lord has blessed us!

    1. Yes!! You are so right Kristall!! I love that! When we walk by the Spirit and in the strength of God, everything is much different and SO much better!

  2. I pray I that I have the same faith response in the face of adversity that Uncle John did! So thankful that our father is faithful to give us wisdom when we pray. He is so good!

  3. Oh my, thank you Deb!! I need to read this one over again a couple times to really internalize the message of faith and a life lived well that you share here! I am praying for wisdom, knowledge and compassion today, three things that I can definitely use more of! What an encouraging message! Praise Jesus!

  4. Wisdom, knowledge & compassion. I could most certainly use more of all three of these attributes. Thanks Deb, I love this story of your Uncle John and his faith ♥️

  5. Hi!
    At the risk of sounding corny, I’ll share the best advice I’ve gotten. It is from the Holy Spirit, and I receive it so often (more than once a week) during my quiet times, that I KNOW it’s important.

    He always tells me to “love well”.

    The concept of loving well was not taught to me in my childhood very well. But I am working on this with God’s power. I have a long way to go, but I am transforming. Praise God!!!

    1. Thanks for sharing Kristi! And that is not corny. 🙂 Loving well is so important and especially sets us apart as Christ followers. Jesus loved so well. There are times when it is hard to love well, and the average person cannot do it. But, like you said, with His transforming us we can!

      This makes me think about forgiveness. Forgiving someone that has hurt us is loving them well. This is the best advice I have ever gotten. To forgive someone is to set yourself free. I have been on a journey of forgiveness myself towards a few people in my life. It is SO hard and I want apologies, but they are not coming. Leaning into Jesus and using Him as the model is my comfort. Praise Him!

    2. What a beautiful piece of advice! “To love well” should be ALL of our greatest aspirations!
      I love that you are relying on God’s power to impact your family. It doesn’t matter what kind of family we come from, God can redeems them all! What a blessing it is to have Jesus!!

    3. I love this Kristi! I too want to love well! Thank you so much for sharing these words from the Holy Spirit. What a legacy you are leaving!

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