The Lord says: My thoughts and my ways are not like yours. Just as
the heavens are higher than the earth, my thoughts and my ways are
higher than yours." - Isaiah 55:8-9

For years, it was a real ego-boost to help my daughters with their
homework. (An ego boost for me, that is!) They would turn to me for
guidance and help with their homework. They trusted completely in my
ability to help them, and their trust was well placed, because I
could help them. It was a great relationship. They needed help and
wisdom, so they turned to me, and I gave it to them. It was a win-
win for us all!

I have noticed that they turn to me less and less for help with their
homework. Could it be because they are studying things that I either
forgot over 20 years ago or that I never learned in the first place?
Yes! It used to be known that Dad was smarter than they were. Now, in
certain areas, they are smarter than Dad. So they search out and turn
to others who are of help to them – and now they receive an ego-
boost, because they are smarter than Dad!

We all have so many needs. The world has many invitations for help
and guidance. You can find books, magazines, self-proclaimed
experts, and other forms of help that all say they have the answer
to meet your needs. We turn to them, hoping that they will provide
the wisdom and guidance we need. Scripture says that we need to
remember that God is the source of all wisdom, guidance, and
strength. God's ways and thoughts are higher than any other on
earth. God wants us to turn and receive divine guidance and support
in our time of need. Like my children once did, we need to turn to
God in complete trust that God can help us. The great thing about
God's ways, though, is that God's ways will always be higher than
ours! He will always be the source of wisdom and guidance for us.

Bringing It Home:
1. Have you been searching the world for answers to your needs and
come up short? Is the self-help book you are following working? Ask
God to guide you and give you strength. Trust in God's ways.
2. If you know someone who is struggling and who needs to rely more
on God's ways, invite them to church or your small group. Offer to
pray with and for them.

Prayer:
Lord, your ways are truly so great and so wonderful. Your ways are
beyond our comprehension. Help me to truly trust more in your ways
and not in my own. Help me to trust that your ways are better than
the world's ways. Only then can I become who you created me to be.
Amen.

John A. Holm
Transforming Church Institute
www.transformingchurch.net

Please feel free to share this devotion with others.