When We Know Better

When We Know Better

Last night at our family game night, we were playing Scrabble, and one of my sons played a word. We knew the word wasn't spelled correctly, but we also knew that the Scrabble dictionary sometimes allows alternate spellings, so we let it go. After he played and we moved on with the game we decided to check it, and our suspicions were confirmed.

We then spent about ten minutes discussing the situation because my husband had already played off the incorrectly spelled word. The debate became: Should we even be allowed to continue playing off of it?

In the end, we decided to leave it as it was, even though we knew it wasn't technically a word.

Right in the middle of our discussion, I said, "Wow, this would make a great Bible talk..." So here we are.

So often, we know when something is wrong, doesn't feel right, or causes us to question it. Just like with the spelling of that word, we knew something wasn't right, but because we weren't completely sure what the Scrabble dictionary would say, we let it go.

We do the same thing in life.

We can know something isn't right and even question it, but if we rationalize it enough, we can convince ourselves that it's okay and decide to let it slide just this once.

I've always been someone who thinks, if it doesn't feel right or seem right, then it's probably not right. At the same time, I don't like change very much, so discernment is needed because what if something actually is right and it's simply my aversion to change holding me back?

Let's look at all of this through the lens of Scripture and see how this applies to following God’s word and what it says.

Joshua 1:8 – “Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do.”

Hebrews 4:12 – “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.”

These verses remind us of the importance of knowing God's Word, trusting it, and holding everything in our lives up against its truth.

As we were discussing the spelling of the word, many good points were brought up. I could understand the reasoning from every side, so I went with what seemed most logical. Was it technically, right? No. But I went along with it because we had already made one mistake, and now we felt stuck.

The choices we make can change the trajectory of things.

Had we challenged the first word when it was played, we would have avoided all of the issues that followed. We also learned something from the experience. After that, we challenged every word we questioned, and we decided that if we weren't willing to challenge a word during the game, then we couldn't go back and check it afterward "just to see."

The truth is, we didn't like the fact that we couldn't go back and change a decision we had already made.

Life brings regrets, and how we respond to them builds character.

We can sit in regret and become overly rigid, trying to make sure we never make the same mistake again. Or we can acknowledge what happened, learn from it, make adjustments, and keep moving forward.

2 Timothy 3:16 says, – “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.”

We will make mistakes, but we have a loving Father who helps us through them. He corrects us and shows us where we have gone wrong, but He doesn't leave us there. He guides us back to the right path—if we are willing to follow Him.

Psalm 19:7 says – “The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.”

We can absolutely trust the Lord. Even though we are not worthy of all that He offers us, He still loves us despite our mistakes.

His ways are better than ours.

Don't hold on to your regrets and mistakes. Don't allow them to keep you from doing what you know is right.

Seek the Lord and ask for forgiveness. And don't forget to forgive yourself.

When you do, you'll find that the renewing and reviving of your soul changes your perspective. You'll begin to see things through God's eyes rather than through the eyes of the world.

Your mistakes do not define you.

They shape you. They grow you. They make you wiser because you've learned from them and trusted the Lord along the way, knowing that He is still at work in your life.

There are many heroes in the Bible who made significant mistakes and faced consequences for them, but those mistakes never stopped them from walking out the calling God had placed on their lives.

And they don't have to stop you either.

God has great plans for you.