We have all probably heard the saying; “You forgot where you came from.” The problem with that saying is you really didn’t forget where you came from; you just may not want to live there anymore.

The base of our knowledge about life stems from our being raised in an environment. We see things a certain way until we are exposed to another way of looking at things. We here people say, “That’s the way I was raised.” We then find out there is more to life then just how we were raised.

Hopefully we gain knowledge and understanding of different cultures and a different way of doing things in life’s journey. Knowledge and understanding after all are the buffet of life.

True knowledge can make you grow to the point where you get tired of thinking inside the parameters placed upon yourself and by others. Too often we think of a hero as an extraordinary human being. A hero is just someone who started thinking outside of parameters.

It might get to a point where you think you just can’t live life the way you are living it any more. You may have to break away from some “friends” who are bringing you down. Once again they may tell you, you forgot where you came from. But in reality you didn’t forget where you came from. You just decided to do something different with your life and you can’t live there anymore. After all the more you learn and are exposed to new ideas and different ways to live the harder it becomes to stay in the same old place.

Increase in knowledge and understanding so when God opens the door to where you are waiting to go, you will be ready to go through the door. When you are wanting a new career, get the knowledge for it, so when the opportunity arises you have an idea what it is going to be like. Get knowledge about finances and managing money, so when the job at the bank opens up you have a better understanding. Get knowledge about a profession that you would like to go into, so when the opportunity comes up you will be ready.

Too many people feel like if it is supposed to happen, it will just happen. But if something does come your way and you aren’t ready for it, it probably isn’t going to happen. The Bible even talks about getting wisdom and understanding.

Proverbs 4:7 (CEB) The beginning of wisdom: Get wisdom! Get understanding before anything else.

If life were your stage and you could do whatever you wanted, what would you do? After all God has created us as individuals to grow. Not one living person has grown to their fullest potential. We are all meant to continuing growing until our last breath. Life really is our stage.

Life isn’t all about wanting more or being greedy. It is about acquiring knowledge along the way and what we do with that knowledge. Something more is calling you and it is up to you to do something with it. You cannot stay where you are and be content. That is human nature.

But in all of your “getting” get understanding. Learn and understand who the God of the Bible is. Too many times we say that we are waiting on God to change something. You may be waiting on God while God is waiting on you. God has provided everything you need. All you need to do is take a step toward him and make a decision.

Romans 12:1-2 (MSG) So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering by saying, God, I give you my life as an offering, help me understand you and the plans you have for my life, be gentle with me dear God as you teach me, so that the understanding I need will come and stick with me without pain in jesus name, I ask and pray, amen!

Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Author Tony Werner