O the sons of Issachar!
They knew what others didn’t
Knowledge distinguished them
To do what others could but didn’t
Knowledge empowered them
To achieve what no other did.
Because they understood times
Knowledge taught them to fit.

The time we are living in is very unique and requires, if not demands, more than we typically needed to deal with the past. Things are changing so fast; events that we have no experience about, people we don’t understand, reactions we don’t know what to do with. This is not the time to jump on any wagon that passes our way because there are many strange wagons on the move; looking like what we used to know, driving like they are going where we are headed but in reality are not. Discernment has become a critical factor, not only for survival but also for saving us from what we know nothing about and should not be involved with.

There are many causes that look good on the surface but are being manipulated by persons with contrary intentions. There are many ways that look good but in truth, lead far from good. And there are many sweet talkers, using popular acronyms to capture the attention of the majority, whose intentions proffer nothing good for anyone except themselves. Wolves in sheep skin, prowling about, luring and leading many into something that looks good but broods only evil.

Deception is rife. Manipulation is everywhere and what does that say to us? To be watchful and mindful, like we have never been before. To take nobody at face value and to take nothing for granted. To ask questions until we gain better understanding, to restrain our words from hasty speeches, to choose silence than to lend our voices to deception for want of better understanding, to hold back, wait a little longer, look a little deeper, to get a better picture before we jump into any wagon that passes our way. Life has taught me that it is better to be late than to jump into the wrong wagon and end up in the wrong place, with the wrong people. Returning from the wrong place is often not as easy as it was to get there. Some never make it back and those who do live with unforgettable scars.

While some are wasting away worrying, fretting and fearing what they do not understand, like the sons of Issachar, let us take time to seek the face of God who knows it all; to ask knowing that He loves to reveal the hidden things to those who seek; to wait until God gives the Word, to run at the sound of His command and not look back, to not stop until we lay hold of that for which we have been saved, spared and sent at such a time as this. Until we gain understanding of a matter, may we learn to hold our peace and look to God the revealer of all things. And until we hit the mark, may we not be discouraged or distracted by the things that take others out before their time. Amen.

Blessing
Glory!