Insight: From Disembodied Scrambling to Walking in Wisdom

Hindsight brings insight which produces foresight.

Last week, we looked at how hindsight and reflection bring us important data about experiences we’ve had. Today, we’ll look at the next piece of the formula – insight – and how we can use that data to find God at work in our experiences and ourselves.

When my youngest son was a teenager, our family traveled seven or eight months out of every year. Much of that time was spent hosting conferences, empowering Christians to become ready to speak. 

At one of these events, I walked into the staff room. As I looked around, about to comment on things that needed to be done, that son walked over to me. “Mom,” he proclaimed. “Don’t say it. People who don’t even know you try to look busy when you show up.” 

He was right. I valued productivity. I wanted people in my path to be productive. And I always saw ways to help them be more productive. 

But his words struck me in that moment when I realized: productivity is not the highest goal for the Jesus follower. At least not the kind I valued. My kind of productivity was all about the to-do list, checking off things we complete. Which often results in simply going through the motions – a “disembodied life.” Being productive for the sake of being productive – without asking why. 

Spiritual writer Janet Hagberg makes a statement worth ruminating on: “A leader’s capacity for influence is actually capped by their capacity for reflection.” And not simply taking time for hindsight – but evaluating what to do about it. Gaining insight from that hindsight.

Think back to the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 that we explored in my last post. When they met, they remembered (hindsight), then they interpreted (insight). They didn’t just see Gentiles; they saw “signs and wonders” and realized God was doing something new. In other words, the remembering (hindsight) gave them a new way to look at what God was doing (insight).

There are some other great Scriptural examples of pausing for insight. King Solomon, arguably the wisest man who ever lived penned these words: 

“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” (Ecclesiastes 7:10) 

It is the tendency of humans to romanticize the past. I often hear people talking about the “good old days.” When I pause to reflect and learn from my recent past, I’m less inclined to think that the old days were that much better. I can trade up the question “Why were the old days better?” Instead, I can ask, “What was God teaching me then that I need now?” That’s insight.  

The prophet Joel, too, calls to us across the centuries to record, reflect, and gain insight. Wannabe journalers like me who always struggled with what to write down each day – always wanting life to read and sound better than it feels – can take notes from him:

 “Has anything like this ever happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors? Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children and their children to the next generation.” (Joel 1:2-3)

When Joel penned those words, the world was a mess. God’s people were disobedient and rebellious  – and there were real consequences. The next generations didn’t just need to know about the good stuff. They needed to be able to reflect on the hindsight of their forefathers and use insight to make better choices.

The messiness, the disobedience, the consequences, God’s mercy and grace and forgiveness. The celebrations and rejoicing when life takes a positive turn. Joel calls us to make sense of our experiences and retell them out of the insight gained.

Reflect in the comments: Looking at a challenge from last year, what is one ‘meaning’ or ‘lesson’ you can find in it that you didn’t see when you were in the middle of it?”