Proverbs 19:2

It’s dark and cold. Rising from the warm bed, she reaches for the down jacket. “Better get that on before the muscles in my back tightened,” she mumbles. Stuffy head makes breathing difficult; her glasses add to the pressure across her face. The sinus headache throbs to the beat of her heart.

“Thank you, Lord, for this morning.” Cough, cough. Heaviness across her chest again, breathing labored. “Hate to lose those two hours of sleep.” Yes, it would have been good but the body just doesn’t always do what we want it to.

Reaching for the jacket, she slides in one arm but there is a problem with the second. It’s not working for some reason; she pushes her arm in harder. No luck. She struggles to shove it in again because she feels the cold hitting the testy muscles of her back. One more attempt to shove her arm in before she yanks off the one cooperating sleeve. Ah, the problem is now visible even in the dark room; the sleeve was turned inside out. No amount of shoving or pushing would have resolved the problem.   

She pulls on the soft, down-filled jacket and the comfort is almost immediate. She sighs, knowing she prolonged the problem by insisting on pushing and shoving her way through. Her struggle and determination to do it her way gave the cold time to do its damage, the back pain was awaken and making its presence known. No one to blame but herself.

 
The moral of the story: When we insist on pushing our way through in the darkness instead of using wisdom and walking in the light, we create a breeding ground for unnecessary pain and frustration in our lives. Seek wisdom and do rely on your own strength. 

Proverbs 19:2  To act without knowing how you function is not good; and if you rush ahead you will miss your goal.