Focus on Depth, Trust God With The Breadth

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today – May 8, 2017

And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. Luke 2:52

Lake Tahoe is one of our favorite spots in the entire world for my wife Rita and I to rest, reflect and rejuvenate. Half of the lake is located in Nevada and the other half in California.  Over the years we strategically enjoyed the less expensive prime rib dinners on the Nevada side, but stay in a quaint and serene cabin by the lake on the California side. God’s creation captivates my heart and explodes my imagination into a fireworks display of possibilities!

During one of our first visits to Tahoe, I discovered some amazing facts about this stunningly beautiful body of water.  It is a crater positioned 1 mile high; it has 72 miles of gorgeous shoreline and 39 trillion gallons of icy water; with an average depth of 990 feet and the glacial runoff contributes to 99.9% water purity.  If you could pour the water in Lake Tahoe over the state of California, the state’s entire land mass would be covered in 14.5 inches of water.  

“Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man” (Proverbs 3:4).

Suddenly, without warning—the Holy Spirit yanked on my heart with this idea, “The depth of our character determines the breadth of our influence”.  However, quality character development and maturity happen over time.  Our character grows as we understand and apply wisdom to everyday life experiences. There are no shortcuts to obtaining wisdom and discernment, it comes in bite-sized portions. When we are faithful to follow through on what seems trivial and as we learn from our mistakes—we become candidates for wisdom.  Wisdom is not manufactured, rather it marinates in the mind and heart until its influence begins to seep into our attitudes and actions.

Are you focused on the depth of your character? Or is it surface—just saying the right things to get the most expedient results? Are you committed to the long-term discipline of overcoming adversity at work, home and in relationships so you truly push through immature thinking and replace it with a mature mind?  A friend once told me, “Boyd, you can move every two years for twenty years and have two years experience ten times, or you can invest your life in one place and have twenty years experience in one location.” Focus on depth, trust God with the breadth.

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” (Philippians 1:9-10).

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