8/20 Strength for Today

Lessons from Experience


1 Kings 20:22

“And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.”


Experience is one of the greatest teachers from which we can learn. We can learn from the experience of those who have gone before us. We can learn from the experience of those around us. We can also learn from our own experiences. Experience is a great teacher because it shows us what to do and what not to do. If a person will learn from experience, then they can avoid many dumb and hurtful mistakes.


In the verse above, God told Ahab to write down how he defeated the Syrian army because he was going to have to fight them again. The Syrian army had become very proud in their ways, and God used Ahab to do His service in destroying this wicked nation. When God told Ahab to write down how he defeated them, He wanted him to learn from experience and do it over again. God knows that if something works one time it will work again.


Experience needs to be your teacher. When I say experience, I am talking about several different things. First of all, you need to let the experienced in an area teach you how to do things. There are some who have already walked down the road that you are walking, and you need to let them teach you how to walk down that road. Many times in my life I have found people who are older and have allowed them to let their experience teach me how to walk in certain areas of my life. For instance, let those who are experienced in marriage help you to have a good marriage. Let those who are experienced in your walk of life help you to be successful in your walk. Let those who are experienced in your age group help you to get through your current stage of life. Learn from those who have walked where you are currently walking.


Secondly, let the experience of the past teach you. History is a great teacher from which all of us can learn. Too many people think they are smarter than history only to find out that they should have followed history's advice. Be careful that you don't think that you're smarter than history. There is a reason why history is a good teacher, because those in history have tried and proven or failed at what we are currently attempting to do. Don't fall trap to the idea that you are the exception to the rule. You might be the exception, but you would be wiser to follow history's lessons.


Lastly, learn from your own experiences. Each of us has experiences that can teach us how to do certain tasks of life. If you have been down the same road which you are currently walking, then let your experience on that road become your teacher.


Be careful in your life not to ignore the lessons of experience. Experience is the best teacher from which anyone can learn. Don't ignore its lessons! Don't try to change what has been proven successful through experience! Keep doing what experience teaches you to do and you will find less heartache and more success by following its lessons.