Thursday... How do we handle it?

How do we handle advice? Especially if we didn't ask for it? My dad always said, "Advice not asked for stinks." I've tried to live by that when I am thinking about giving advice when the other person hasn't asked for it. But it may be a good thing for us to listen. God speaks to us in so many different ways.

I love the story in the last chapter of John where the disciples after Jesus had been killed and then He had showed Himself to them and it seemed like they didn't know what to do so they went back to what they knew to do, they went fishing. That is what they did before Jesus ask them to follow Him. They did what they knew to do but they were having a difficult time catching fish.

John 21:3b (NLT) says, "So they went out in the boat, but they caught nothing."

Verse 4 goes on, "At dawn Jesus was standing on the beach, but the disciples couldn't see who he was." Verse 5, "He called out, 'Fellows, have you caught any fish? 'No', they replied."

Here was this guy on the beach yelling out to them. They didn't know who he was. Then it happened. In verse 6, this unknown guy, "Then he said, "Throw out your nets on the right-hand side of the boat, and you'll get some." Now how would we handle that?

We can be so proud, can't we? "I'm the pro here. What does he think he is doing."

Bur here is the great thing. Verse 6 continues, "So they did, and they couldn't haul in the net because there were so many fish in it."

Verse 7, "Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, 'It is the Lord!'"

Pride could have gotten in the way of them catching fish. 11b said, "There were 153 large fish, and yet the net hadn't broken."

Proverbs 11:2 (NIRV) says, "When pride comes, shame follows. But wisdom comes to those who are not proud."

We can have such high opinion of our self and what we can accomplish. Confidence is important but so is humility.

King David said in Psalm 71:1-3, "Lord, I have gone to you for safety. Let me never be put to shame, You do what is right, so save me and help me." Now that is humility. He goes on, "Be my rock of safety that I can always go to. Give the command to save me. You are my rock and my fort."

But the key is, we need to listen. And they did even though they didn't know it was Jesus.

So let's not let pride get in the way. Remember, "But wisdom comes to whose who are not proud." Listen, it might be the Lord who is speaking to you through that person. Yes, yes! #todaysbeginning

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Todays Beginning

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