“I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit,” Romans 15:13.
4. GOD PUT IT IN WRITING
What we need so that we don’t live lives that bring harm to ourselves God wrote down for us.
Imagine that!
God put into writing what we need to know and be equipped with when He provided for us the Bible:
“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. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.
“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,” Hebrews 4:12.
5. WISDOM FOR LIVING
None of us have the wisdom we need to live right and to live well.
So what can we do?
“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking,” James 1:5.
6. THE SUPPORT OF TWO FAMILIES
In God’s design for life, He has provided us with immense support from not one but TWO families.
The first family is our biological family, which for most people in this world will be their closest human relationships other than your spouse. In the following verse, look at how caring for and supporting family is the unstated expectation:
“But those who won’t care for their relatives, especially those in their own household, have denied the true faith. Such people are worse than unbelievers,” 1 Timothy 5:8.
When we are “born again” (become a Christian), we’re spiritually born into God’s family, which we know as the church:
“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other,” Romans 12:4-5.
It’s not uncommon that the family of God can be more loving, loyal, and supportive than even our biological family. Acts 2 and Acts 4 in particular record how the early church went to great sacrifice to take care of each other. It’s this love and care for each other that the Apostle Paul was persistent about encouraging among Christians:
“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had,” Philippians 2:1-5.
7. WISE COUNSEL
As a means to help us not harm ourselves, over and over again in scripture we are encouraged to seek wise counsel instead of relying only on our own thinking and feelings, which we can deceive ourselves with. So God urges us to be the kind of people who seek out wise counsel before making decisions:
“Fools think their own way is right, but the wise listen to others,” Proverbs 12:15.
“Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many advisers bring success,” Proverbs 15:22.
“Those who trust their own insight are foolish, but anyone who walks in wisdom is safe,” Proverbs 28:26.
8. THE GIFT OF SCIENCE
This one might surprise you, but God’s gift to us of science is a means for us to learn about the world He created and how the world, and everything in it, functions. Some science, like the sciences of medicine, psychology, and psychiatry CAN BE great gifts to help us in navigating through this life without doing a lot of harm to ourselves or others.
For example, a skilled clinical therapist can help us to think rationally instead of being carried away by our constant irrational self-talk.
A physician can help us be good stewards of our bodies so that we have the physical capacity to serve God and others.
Science is meant to be a gift from God to us, and it can be greatly helpful when applied in harmony with scripture.
CONCLUSION
It’s sad but true that we bring more trouble and harm to our lives than any external sources do. God understands that broken aspect of us and provides ways to change our lives so that we can live the kind of life He has for us, the kind of life Jesus sacrificed Himself for us to have:
“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life,” John 10:10.
This article originally appeared here.
