Read the scene before you walk into it
Wade’s working rule as a picture of discernment: slow down, look, and check before you believe.
“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.” — Proverbs 14:15
When Wade Holloway comes on a scene in Poacher’s Moon, he doesn’t rush in. He stops. He looks. He photographs everything from three angles before he touches anything, because an old warden named Lonnie Pruitt drilled one rule into him: you don’t know a thing until you’ve checked it.
“The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going” (Proverbs 14:15).
Leaning on my own understanding
I have misread more situations in my life than I can count, and I’ve made a lot of missteps along the way. Most of them came from leaning on my own understanding, and I don’t have all the answers.
Many times I should have prayed earnestly for God’s direction. Instead I prayed a prayer that was really just my own desires with His name on it. Times like that are hard, and they’re learning experiences we should take heed of. Too often, I’ve ignored those lessons altogether.
Believing every word
Right now I see a lot of people hanging on every word of politicians and news outlets. Don’t get me wrong: I believe we should be involved in those things. But we don’t have to be so consumed by them that we stop having faith that we know how all of this turns out.
It’s easy to start focusing on what the world says is important, when in reality it isn’t. Jesus has redeemed us. Scripture tells us plainly, through the book of Revelation, that things will get worse as the end approaches. So it shouldn’t shock us when we see evil rise.
Slow down. Look well to your going. Check what you’re hearing against the Word before you walk into it, and pray for His direction, not just your own.