A friend recently told me that what he needed to know was not what to do to live a godly life, but how. He knew that he needed to love well, trust in God, and follow his leading. But how?
For example, he knew he needed to do what the Bible said. But that was not enough. He had concluded that his human fortitude was not going to keep him from worrying, acting lazy, and overeating. He needed to know how to tap into the supernatural to do what the Bible said.
But how?
Why Is Knowing the How Important?
Without knowing how we can’t obey. We may have good intentions, but that’s not good enough.
Knowing how to love well is just as important as knowing that we need to love well. What good does it do us to know that we need to love God and others well, but don’t know how or what it looks like?
Learning the How
We are able to know and do the how as we operate in God’s wisdom. Using God’s wisdom is how to live the Bible. We need to pray for this wisdom and he promises to shower us with it (James 1:5).
For example, many of know that God wants us to love our wives. But how? In my case, every day I ask God for his power and wisdom to love Adele in the practical details of life. Today, I included a trip to the ice cream parlor to cap off a date with her because I knew she liked ice cream. I believe that this idea came from God in answer to my prayer for wisdom to treat her with dignity and respect.
Another way we learn the how is to be mentored by someone who is doing the how. These mentors not only know truth but have applied it to the details of everyday life. Jesus taught his disciples the how largely by living with them. They got more than a sermon from Jesus. They got his deep beliefs, values and motives as he lived with them 24/7.
Another way to know the how is for us to not accept lazy sermons. These sermons stay parked on what a passage teaches, rather than also delving into the painful process of how to live it. Sadly, I think one reason we don’t get more of the how in sermons is that the pastors are not living more of the truth they teach.
In addition, we need to cultivate the habit of responding to the truth that we learn. We all have the tendency to be hearers but not doers. Just taking one simple step to obey what we have learned can help us learn the how. We begin with one small step and grow from that.
Another way we learn about the how is by reading biographies of godly men. I remember reading about the great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor, to learn about his secrets about how to pray. His example taught me a lot about how to be a godly man.
A final suggestion about how to learn the how is to simply try. For example, we learn to be a leader by leading. We learn to love our wives as we join forces with Jesus and love with the wisdom and power that he gives.
May we not be deceived by just knowing what we are supposed to do and think that is good enough. Without learning how to depend on God to do what we are supposed to do, we fail to be transformed. May we learn the how and grow to spiritual maturity.
Journey into Lightl 