Wisdom suggests, no tells, demands, and forces you to realize, that you should never assume. Obvious knowledge is not always so obvious. Clearly understood facts can be more cloudy than clear. Shared journeys, time together, and common approaches to challenges and opportunities do not mean that the way things are seen, experienced, or described are the same. Assuming is a recipe for misunderstanding and frequently heartache.
I know this, have experienced the truth of Wisdom’s leading, and yet find myself assuming. It is natural. It is often the easy way to proceed. It is often foolish.
For one reason or another, I have a friend who always travels with me. Far more often than he will ever realize, he reminds me of how easily I assume everyone understands where we are. He makes a motion, in person or simply as a character in my virtual world, and I find myself trapped with another friend, running on a back street in a town on the English coast. I quickly realize that we are lost in my sea of assumptions. We need to regroup! A simple word, a quiet gathering of the questions that I know will be hidden among those gathered, and we begin to eliminate each assumption.
It is a wonderful process. I see others that set the example I know I must follow. “Peter, starting from the beginning, laid it out for them step-by-step: ‘Recently I was in the town of Joppa praying.’” (Acts 11.4) Bring people into a shared world. Regroup and embrace shared values and priorities. Walk in understanding and purpose.
I find myself regrouping this morning, catching my bearings. It is easy to assume that everything is on a path with purpose. I wonder, is it? Falling into a pattern always provides comfort and a sense of security. Ignorance will not protect you from failure. Just because it is natural does not mean that one should automatically follow a particular path.
I invite you to regroup with God today. It is a wonderful way to be on the same page with Divinity.
