Categories: devotional

Two Ways to Examine Your Experiences

An unexamined experience is worthless.

There are people who are 50 years old who haven’t lived 50 years. They’ve lived one year 50 times. They’re still making the same mistakes, because they never stop and extract the lessons. They never stop to ask, “What happened in this last year, and what can I do differently so that I am living life better?”

The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith” (NLT).

What does that mean? It means you take some time to review the experiences of your life, and you look for two things:

Look for benefits. What did you really enjoy in your life? Don’t just say, “I really enjoyed that job.” Ask, “What was it about that job that I really loved?” Don’t just say, “I really liked that class.” Ask, “What exactly about that class did I like? Why was it so fulfilling to me?” You’ll get little clues about where you should be headed with your life.

Look for patterns. Particularly, you want to look for patterns in your failure. Because when you fail, you tend to do it the same way every time. So you look and say, “Where have I failed in the past? What patterns do I keep repeating?” You don’t look at it to beat yourself up but because you want to be different. Those who ignore the mistakes of their past are likely to repeat them. This was the problem with the Israelites. Their trip to the Promised Land should have only taken a few weeks, not 40 years. But they refused to learn from their experiences and God’s tests. Each failed test meant one more lap around the desert.

The Bible says in Job 32:7, “The longer you live, the wiser you become” (The Message). That verse is a possibility, not a promise. I know a lot of people who are old and dumb. Wisdom does not automatically come with age. Maturity is when you extract meaning from the everyday experiences of life.

Rick Warren

Leave a Comment
Share
Published by
Rick Warren

Recent Posts

Dios es la Puerta a la Libertad

“Yo soy la puerta; los que entren a través de mí serán salvos. Entrarán y…

17 hours ago

Why the Forgiven Don’t Have to Fear

Fear is nothing new. It’s been with us from the very beginning! Adam’s first recorded…

17 hours ago

Por qué los que han sido Perdonados No Tienen que Temer

“Que toda la alabanza sea para Dios, el Padre de nuestro Señor Jesucristo. Es por…

2 days ago

Resurrection Truths That Will Shatter Fear

The Bible is full of commands. But do you know what the most common one…

2 days ago

Verdades de la Resurrección que Destruyen el Temor

“Sea de una forma u otra, el amor de Cristo nos controla. Ya que creemos…

3 days ago

God’s Goodness Lasts Forever

Of all the benefits of God’s goodness, only one lasts beyond your life on earth.…

3 days ago