Week 5 Day 4: The Things You Have Learned

"The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." Philippians 4:9 NASB

Learning occurs when we gain knowledge or a skill through study or experience. When we learn we absorb knowledge, we grasp it and we act on it. Learning is an important part of wisdom. One of our most valuable assets is the ability to acquire knowledge, but knowledge without action is useless and soon forgotten. The old saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it” is very true.

The best ways to learn are by example and experience. For hundreds of years the Jewish people were given the task to live out God’s Word and be a light to the world. They studied God’s Word and they failed miserably. God knew we would need more than study to live the life we were created for so from the beginning He planned to send Jesus. He sent His Son to show us what a relationship with God looks like. He is the example we needed and the bar we should all strive for.

It's good to gain knowledge but it's more important to act on it. We all have information we don’t learn from because it doesn’t seem to be a big deal. We may know something's bad for us, yet we won’t act on that knowledge. We allow our thoughts to talk us into doing something contrary to information because the consequences don’t seem big or won’t immediately impact us. When we get in the habit of not acting properly on the small things, over time we begin to resist acting appropriately on the big and important things. We increasingly resist understanding and act on what we want to think…even if we know those thoughts are not good, true and right.

We all have knowledge we don’t act upon. We don’t exercise when we know it’s best for us. We don’t eat healthy foods when we know a consistent diet of junk and processed food will make us sick. We smoke cigarettes, knowing they cause health risks. It's not until we have a heart attack or end up with a disease caused by our poor health habits that we begin to act on the information we have. By then, it could be too late to reverse our course. That is why we must learn how to change our thoughts now.

Our thoughts can easily overpower our knowledge, leading us to do things we know we shouldn’t do and act in ways we know we shouldn’t act. They can drive us to do dangerous, selfish and unhealthy things. But when we act on knowledge and learn to be a Christ follower our thoughts will begin to come under control. That's where we find a peace and strength we never thought possible.

When we discover who Jesus is and act on that information, we will discover who we are and that is what makes us better at life. Knowledge is just information; Wisdom is acting on it.

Do you do things that you know are contrary to your knowledge? What steps can you take to help you act on your knowledge?

Meditate on “the things you have learned" today.